Thief
by midnight glade
Summary: Sequal to Forgotten. As Billie races to find her sister, the King returns, worlds collide, and Chris faces the problem of divided loyalties…which takes precedence, his duty as destiny, or his identity as a Halliwell?
1. Prologue

Prologue

* * *

_1000 years ago, Valgate_

"How does it feel to watch your Empire fall to pieces around you?"

The room was empty, save two demons, both with auras singing with power. One deathly pale, with strange tattoos curling around a youthful face, lips curled into a malicious smirk, the other more tanned, face unmarked. The pale one appeared pleased with his words but the other demon only laughed, the sound reverberating around the large room.

"_That_ is all you have to say to me? Do you _really _expect your plan to succeed? Do you _really _mean to depose me?"

The pale man shrugged the only sign that the words affected him the slight tensing of his shoulders. "Oh, I'm sorry, does my message need to be clearer? I've attacked your palace, decimated your armies, converted your followers and _destroyed_ your beloved Queen and yet you still haven't realised that I mean to take your place as ruler?"

The mans eyes flashed and he grinned darkly as he replied. "I've realised alright, _boy_, I'm just finding it hard to believe that a weakling like you could ever have gained enough power to challenge the Guild."

"This 'weakling' just invaded your palace and killed your most powerful guards." was the scoffed reply.

"I can get new ones." the King replied dismissively, standing up from his throne. "After I deal with you of course."

The rebel spread his arms wide arrogantly. "Do your worst. I guarantee it will be nothing compared to what I can do."

The King smirked and thrust his hand forwards, palm out, a steady stream of fire lancing towards his adversary with a roar. The demon, in response, raised his hands in front of him confidently, sleeves falling backwards to reveal equally pale arms, catching the fire and keeping it from impacting his body. The demon skidded back a few metres, but when the King stopped the stream of amber magic, he was unharmed. Pent up magic was released, but it was the Guild Master's and flowed past him like a cool breeze. The rebels black eyes hinted at triumph as the would be conqueror readied his own magic to strike at his King. A spell leapt to his lips unbidden, from a depth of knowledge unknown to him.

"Protjerati ovaj kralj na mjesto mraka i užasa, ga shrvati od ovoga svijeta!"

Again, in a replica of the kings movement, he thrust his hand forwards as if to strike at the air, a blinding light exploded outwards but the King dodged it moving to the side and instead it hit the wall, and the wards fizzled angrily. The demon laughed as he turned back and saw the young demon thrown to the floor by the force of his own spell. "Looks like you still have a lot to learn, child, pity you will never get the chance."

But the demon was already picking himself up from his fall, eyes blazing. Focused on something behind the King. "I wouldn't be so sure, looks like that spell doesn't agree with your wards."

It was true, all around the room webs of spidery blue and green light were forming, blinking in and out of focus, casting an eerie glow over the dimly lit hall. Wards that had held throughout wave after wave of demons, year after year of rebellions, for thousands of years, were now struggling to hold themselves together. Sparks of golden light showered down from the walls before the magic gave a final, feeble, whine, and fizzled out of existence. Cheers could be heard from outside, jeers and cries, and then…thundering footsteps as thousands of demons hell bent on following a _new_ King flooded into Valgate.

"What have you done?" the King muttered, glaring at the pale demon.

"Me?" the demon began silkily. "I just short circuited your wards, allowing thousands of demons loyal to me into your little _hideaway_. Even you, your _highness_, can't fight of that many."

"Ah, that is where you are wrong, my young enemy, there are no longer wards on this place preventing transportation…of course your demons seem to have forgotten that but, it means _I _can leave whenever I wish." the King replied equally as silkily, calm and collected as if he was simply killing a mortal on a sunny afternoon.

But this demon was no mortal.

"Then why don't you leave? Run like the coward I bet you really are." the invader replied smugly. "Leave me to control your world, my _lord_, I'm sure I will do a good job. Much better that you at any rate."

Instead of becoming angered, the Guild Master simply smiled condescendingly. "No. I will not leave. Because, wards or not, guards or not, loyal subjects or not, I am still _your_ King and you are merely an annoyance to me. Some pathetic demon high on power; I will squash you like the lowly bug you are. And when I'm done with you, _every_ _single_ irritating bug who comes after you thinking, foolishly, that they can steal _my_ throne with be dealt with in the same way. _Every_ faction who supported you, endorsed you, _will _feel the, considerable, wrath of the Guild. And I _will_ not forget. And I _will _never forgive. Every single disobedient, simple minded traitorous _leech_ that _dared _to defy _me_ will pay with far worse than their lives."

All he got was a smirk, but even the assailant looked at little intimidated but the ferocity in which the King spoke, but still managed to appear calm. "So I take it you are not pleased?"

"Mock me all you want, you who come in here like a _whining_ child, but you will not leave this room alive." the King growled, once again launching a fire ball at the demon.

Caught unawares, for once, as the demon took in the full strength of his former Lords aura, the demon was hit in the face, and screamed as his eye melted into nothing and rivers of blood ran down his ravaged face as the fire burned worse than any acid. Half his tattoos was obscured and the demon shrieked in fury, anger lashing out in the form of a fire ball of his own. His aim was true, but the King simply sidestepped the missile, walking towards the demon as he fell to his knees, breathing deeply to try to soothe the pain.

"I imagine that hurts quite a bit. So it should. Those of my line are gifted with…powerful skills. That fire ball being one of them. Unless you get to a healer, the wound will spread and you will be blinded, it will, eventually, like a curse, cover your entire body, sinking deep to the bone, burning everything else away. You will be alive for most of it, as your skin melts away and your blood with it. It's _supposed_ to be _agonising_. And it will be your punishment." the King explained, savouring every word, eyes hard and cruel.

"Are you really going to leave me alive until then? My followers are coming…"

"Yes, they are, but you killed my wife, and I am not going to give you a quick death. You would take everything from me…right now the risk does not matter. Besides, I thought you would continue this fight, your not incapacitated already, are you?" the Guild Master mocked. "_Get up_."

The demon fought against the pain and stood. He noticed a…flickering, off to the side, and, with his good eye, spotted something that puzzled him.

There was a hole in the wall.

But it didn't lead to anywhere. It was just there. Black all the way in. No exit. No escape.

_The perfect place to trap a King, wouldn't you say? Demon._

The voice slipped into his mind, echoing and silent, there but not, laced with power. The invader smiled and nodded pushing his fear aside. The King was powerful, incredibly so, more so than he was, but that would not protect him. After all, his majesty didn't have Chaos itself on his side. There was no way for him to lose. The King would fall and then the throne would belong to a new ruler, and the Guild would be no more…

_Yes, abandon your fear! Do it now and secure your place as ruler of the Underworld._

A fireball flew at the King but he laughed "Is that all the mighty rebel conqueror has to throw at me? Pathetic!" and then he sidestepped gracefully…

Right into the path of another fireball.

It didn't kill him, there was not one alive who had that power, but it did knock him off his feet. The blast was the most powerful thing his enemy could manage, and it was enough to send the King flying backwards. Right into a wall behind him…

Except the, until then, faithful, wall was no longer there, and the King was pushed through a hole of everlasting blackness.

Silence.

The pale one half expected the King to jump back through, furious, just to spite him, but when no such event occurred, the demon was left with a feeling of numb disbelief and dark elation. So caught up in his victory was he, that he did not notice the black box shoot out from the place the King had fallen through and skid across the room into a hidden corner, gold words flashing in the dim light, a quiet hum buzzing from within…

The demon had only just composed himself when his followers darted into the room. Of course, they could not all fit in, and many were standing outside, but his most loyal were now surrounding him. No one dared comment at the now scarred half of his face but he heard one whisper a command for a healer. The Seer stepped forward, chocolate skin flecked with demon blood. So, there had been some more resistance, interesting…

"My Lord, you were successful." it was no question, but a statement, and he nodded before turning to the throne the former King had occupied not so long ago and sitting down.

It filled him with smugness to be claiming the seat that had once been his enemies and he remembered the countless times he had imagined this moment and decided imagining did not compare. His face throbbed in agony but he ignored it; he must appear strong.

"The King is no longer of this world. As of this moment, the control of the Underworld belongs to me. The Werewolves shall be hunted for their closeness to the former ruler, the factions united, the Vampires respected…but the Queen who stood against me will be tried for her treachery."

The room was filled with cheers and respectful bows.

He held up a hand and they silenced immediately, filling the pale one with a electrifying sense of control and power. "From this hour, I will replace the King" he spat the name out like a particularly foul curse. "and I shall hence be known as the…"

A whisper in his mind.

"Source-Of-All-Evil!"

And so it was, King Edmund faded into obscurity, the Lord of Valgate, Emperor of all the Underworld, Commander of the Hellhounds, the Master of the Guild, was only whispered about.

For fear the Source would be listening for signs of rebellion.

But then the Source died…

* * *

Yeah, so that was the Prologue. I'll post the next chapter next week (I've already written it...go me lol) and then the other ones should follow. I hope I haven't made you wait too long for this and, if I have, I'm sorry. New readers should know that this is a sequal and some parts may be hard to understand if you haven't read the first story. You may also realise that my line breaks have changed, and that in _Forgotten_ they have been taken out completly. To prevent this happening for Thief, I have decided to use the ffnet line break thing. I don't want to finish this and then lose all my partitions. I still have to go back and sort out the mess caused in my other stories. Thank you for reading. Please review.


	2. When the World Bends

Hello readers! I've been away for a long, long (well, to me) time and I'm glad to be writing again. New stories are always hard to write but just this chapter has been started and thought about for months. I didn't know how to start it, how to introduce stuff, how to show stuff…it was hard. But I'm pleased to say that new ideas are now flowing steadily. I am going to make a big gamble and try to promise weekly updates…I feel like I owe it to you guys for the sheer unpredictability of my last story. I will try my best to make sure that this story does get finished quickly, and that you readers have new material to read every week.

So, I hope your ready…here is the first chapter.

Chapter 1- When the World Bends

* * *

The sky was bright; a brilliant blue.

The sun shone radiantly, a disc of glowing amber light. Clouds drifted this way, and that, looking soft and perfect to any observers despite their incorporeal state. It was summer and, the weather, staying true to the season, was baking hot, the air shimmering with the presence of the heat. The sidewalk was relatively empty; many people were indoors cooling down. Every now and then, however, footsteps would sound along the street and a person or two would pass by. Buildings stretched either side of the road, but this was an segregated street, and was rarely used even in normal weather. Shadows cast by the buildings fell onto the asphalt and if someone were to touch the pavement there, they would find it quite cool.

Then a cold wind blew.

It whipped at the buildings and scattered dust; chasing the heat from the air so that the shimmering waves spiralled and then died. The shadows seemed to grow longer and longer, darker and darker, and the suns energy itself lost purchase in the area.

And then the world _bent_.

The scene seemed to snap inwards, twisting and twisting, as if it was being pushed out of the way. As if it were but a bug being swashed against a window. Stone walls turned, cemented roads twisted…and the whole street disappeared.

Except it didn't. It was still there. The road continued, the buildings still existed, the sky still hung above and looked down. But it was different…the buildings were run down and scorched, the streets were dirty and cracked, and the sky, oh the sky, was a violent grey streaked with shots of black. Thunder boomed and screeched, and then it rained. Droplets fell from the sky in a great cascade, showering the street with water. But it was only that street and, as if separated by a wall, everywhere else stayed the same, bright and happy with its shimmering heat.

There was no gentle gradual change, it was harsh, like a cut in delicate skin, and looked completely out of phase.

"Now _that_ is something you don't see everyday."

The voice was smug, unsurprised, excited even, and there was no one to watch as a woman strolled casually up the street, stopping just before she entered the 'patch' of rain. Blonde hair fell down her back and cunning blue eyes surveyed the area. Lips curved into a smile as the woman stepped forward and walked through the rain moving down the run down street.

Then, with a groan that should have been audible, the world snapped back into place. The street seemed to reset itself, light and warmth returning, and the glimpse of that darker, wrong, place disappeared in an instant.

But the woman was gone.

* * *

"I don't see why they should come for dinner. Can't we just cancel already?" Billie complained.

"No, their your parents, the least you can do is give them a chance." Piper replied gently, from her position by the sink, washing up. Her voice was slightly reproachful towards Billie's words and tone.

"The least _I _can do?" Billie said sarcastically. "What about them? For years I've been looking for Christy, and they…they didn't even try."

"Their still your parents; you should try and make amends with them." Piper answered.

"Why? I've spent years searching for my elder sister, years trying to discover where she was taken, trying to get her back. We don't even _talk_ about her. She's gone and we don't even acknowledge that she existed. They haven't even tried to find her, haven't even looked, and I can't forgive them for that." Billie insisted, unable to control the emotion bleeding into her tone. She didn't look at Piper as she said this, she was too busy remembering the months of confusion after Christy disappeared. And then the years after that, the hole her disappearance had left, the desire to find her.

A plate shattered.

"Piper?" Billie said hesitantly. The woman turned, a look of sorrow and pain in her eyes and Billie felt a rush of guilt. Piper had just lost Leo, her husband, and here she was talking about her sister, someone she had lost. "Oh, Piper, I'm sorry…I didn't mean-"

"-to upset me. I know. It's fine." Piper waved her apology aside with a tense smile. She shook her head and some of the pain melted away from her features. "I understand Billie, you've lost your sister and you feel that no one has tried to find her."

"And you've lost Leo." Billie stated.

"No. Not lost. He's coming back." Piper tilted her head and gave Billie a piercing look. "Maybe if you stopped thinking of her as lost you might have more luck."

"What do you mean?" Billie asked.

"She's not gone Billie, as long as you know that she is still out there, she isn't gone. You know that you'll find her and you know that she's coming back." Piper's expression took on a wistful tone as she muttered. "Even if the angels of destiny seem to think they know best."

Billie didn't know how to reply, so she just nodded. Empathy flooded through her mind and she realised that she wasn't the only one who had lost someone, that others had lost loved ones too. She wondered if it was part of being a witch, if Phoebe and Paige had gone through the same thing, or whether it was just part of life. Piper seemed to understand her loss of words and, after drying her hands, exited the kitchen when the cries of her son reached her ears.

Billie, left alone in the kitchen, walked over to one of the cupboards and randomly opened one. She needed time to think…she had planned to go straight to see another kidnap victim but she didn't think she could dive straight back into the hunt for Christy just yet, Piper's words on her mind.

"Huh, we're out of Toadstool."

Maybe a walk would clear her head.

* * *

The police station was almost completely empty.

It was dark, the night having fallen a few hours before, and the streetlights shining through the windows cast dancing shadows on the desks and papers of the rooms it shone into. The station was large, sitting on one of the most rapidly growing crime locations in the whole of England was the cause of that. Most of the staff had gone home, but the place was never completely empty. People were always working, trying to solve cases that they desperately needed to solve. Terry was no different, and as a Detective Inspector, it was is job to bridge the gap between the senior offices and the people who did most of the field work.

"Still here?" his good friend Daniel said, sounding amused from the doorway to Jerry's office.

"Yes, unlike someone I have work to do." the Detective replied good naturedly, continuing to write his report on a mugging down.

His friend winced and then laughed "Ouch. Seriously, you need to give yourself a break. Your going to burn yourself out."

Jerry only raised an eyebrow and replied "I thought you said that a year ago. I think I'm still here…and in one piece. _Shocking_."

"Now no need to get like that." Daniel laughed but stopped when Jerry put away his report in a large brown file and then put it to one side, pulling out another one, slimmer this time, but the difference was that this one was old…and Daniel had seen it many times before. The man sighed, and then added "Are you still working on that?"

"Yes, and I will continue to work on it until it is solved." Jerry confirmed.

"You've really got to let that go. Your not going to catch the guy." Daniel replied. But it was the same speech he had said a thousand times and it made no difference…Jerry was already opening the file.

"I will. A lot has changed in two years, I'm a Detective now and have a lot more power…and experience. As well as new leads." Jerry replied calmly, he too had said the exact same thing a thousand times.

"What? That organised crime case? You have no evidence. You need to let this one go. Come on, have some coffee at least if you won't go home." Daniel insisted.

Jerry sighed and got to his feet, smiling at his friends determination. "Alright. But I'm coming right back afterwards. These cases won't solve themselves."

But Daniel wasn't listening. "It must be a miracle! The world is ending. Jerry Brown is moving from his office! Oh the horror!"

Jerry only shook his head at his friends antics and walked out of the office, Daniel following with a satisfied smile. The file on the desk remained open. Pages of painstakingly gathered evidence that amounted to much less than the Detective had hoped for. Still, it was enough…or so he hoped. Pictures, blueprints, statements, new leads and what they had amounted to, a compilation of everything Jerry knew, and didn't know, about the person he was desperate to put in prison. It was a hobby of his, once he had done all his work for the day, he would pull out the file and read through it, looking for anything he had missed. He would gather new evidence and then look through that too.

On the first pages of the file, were the blueprints of a museum, and a picture of a sword.

* * *

She entered the shop and peered around.

Supplies of varies ingredients sat on the shelves lining the walls, covering them almost completely. The place gave of a crowded, messy, sort of feel and she found that she liked its causal clutter. A clock hung from the wall behind the counter, and there was man that looked about twenty standing by the till nonchalantly leaning forwards, reading something. The shop was quiet and Billie winced as the door slammed closed behind her with sound that seemed infinitely loud in the relative silence of the shop. There were a few people milling around, picking things up, examining them, often with a practised eye. For a moment she felt out of place but then she remembered that these ingredients could be used in potions, and felt slightly better.

Trying to navigate through the shelves proved slightly difficult, but once she realised that things were organised basically in alphabetical order things got easier. It didn't take long for her to find the ingredient she was looking for and, once she did, she felt a distinct lack of purpose. What was she supposed to do now? Go home? See another kidnap victim? The events of the day, in fact the last week, were catching up to her.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Billie wandered around the shop once more stopping to examine a strange purple stone, a vial that looked like it was made of pure crystal, a jar of strange looking things that on closer inspection turned out to be eyes (she put _that _one down quickly) and a athame.

It was plain looking and slightly rusted but she did need a new athame.

She shrugged and picked it up, taking it over to the counter. The man looked up at her, bored, light blue eyes slightly vacant. He smiled half-heartedly and told her the price in a tone that spoke of the amount of time he spent in this shop. Then he looked at the athame and gave her a oddly surprised look, she found it quite insulting.

"Are you sure you want that?" he didn't seem to be impressed. "Because if you go to the back shelve we have ones of much better quality."

Billie felt slightly affronted but couldn't help but laugh at his unimpressed tone. He laughed too. "No, I'm sure I want this one."

"That's cool. I guess I shouldn't make a habit of telling the customer what to buy, huh?" he replied, voice filled with mirth.

"I guess not. " Billie agreed, handing him the correct amount and watching as he counted out her change with a practised ease and slipped her purchased into a small bag. "Some of the more cranky customers might get a little violent."

To her surprise, he laughed again. "I'll bare that in mind."

She nodded and, after taking the bag of him along with her change and putting both in the larger bag she had brought with her, turned around and walked out of the shop and back into the stifling heat. The sky looked almost like molten sapphire through the heat shimmering in the air. Still, living in this kind of heat all her life, the witch was used to such weather and not that affected.

She felt better now. She didn't know what it was, the weather, the walk or something else, but she felt calmer than she was when she had been in the manor. Maybe it was because she had had some time to think, cool down, and the manor and all her problems with her parents seemed so far away. It was this that made her decide to visit another kidnap victim. She needed to investigate whether it was linked to her sisters, maybe Christy wasn't the only magical child taken from her parents. She had the piece of paper that will determine whether he is magical of not.

Maybe this could help her find her sister.

* * *

Well, that went well, Billie thought, adjusting her bag on her shoulder.

The tension between the cousin and Rod was palpable and she had felt quite uncomfortable in that room when they had argued. She brushed of her apprehension quickly though…who was _she_ to judge a family feud? And the guy was magical, that must mean _something_, it had to be significant but what…and how?

She didn't know, but if magical children were being kidnapped from their families then something had to be going on…maybe the demons were looking for something? Something they had found in Christy. Just thinking about that sent a shiver of fear down her spine. The thought of her sister being taken at such a young age for an unknown purpose was horrifying. It didn't matter that years had passed since she had last seen her sister, didn't matter that she, herself had been so young, all that mattered was that Christy was her sister, and that kind of bond just didn't go away.

Maybe another kidnap victim would provide more answers…

But first she had to locate one, and then contact one, and then find out what had happened and _then _whether they were magical…she just wished there was an easier way.

Billie continued walking down the busy street, ignoring the hustle and bustle of the crowd of people around her. Murmurs of their speech flowed together in her mind, a constant stream of different words colliding and spinning of each other so every conversation was practically indiscernible from the next, a light blanket of noise. She walked across several crossings and turned into various streets on her way through the puzzle like streets of the city and back to the manor. A sharp left took her into an empty street.

She came to a large building that looked to be a car shop and, as she walked passed, looked through the windows. The cars were sleek and the paint shone; obviously expensive, but they looked lost in there all on their own without any customers inspecting them. She marvelled at the expensive layout of the interior, the plush desks and carpets, and skimmed over the black, inky, shadows cast on the walls on the floor. Strange how they looked so peculiarly shaped, almost like smudges. She looked ahead of her, eyes flicking past the 'open' sign on the door, laughing inwardly at how boyish she felt looking, and admiring, cars she could never hope to buy.

The car park was empty except for a red and black motorbike. It's leather clad owner was leant back against the seat, obviously waiting for someone, the matching red helmet tilted up to the sun showed the tell tale signs of day dreaming. Billie rolled her eyes, how could anyone stand to wear leather in this heat? She knew that it was just what people wore when they rode motorbikes but…still. It was weird. Didn't the guy have a car?

Maybe he could go and buy one of the cars in the car shop place instead of standing outside, she thought. Though I don't understand how, I didn't see anyone in there as I walked past. No employees and no people. Odd.

She froze.

I didn't see _anyone_ in the shop. I haven't passed _anyone_ on the street. I haven't met _anyone_ yet. Except…

The motorcyclist.

She turned back to him and saw that he was still in the same position, leaning against his bike casually, helmet tilted upwards, looking completely relaxed.

Billie shook her head. Now she was just getting paranoid. Why did she feel like something really bad was about to happen? It's just an empty street, she told herself, so what if you haven't seen any people yet…no need to be so damn jumpy.

A breeze ruffled her hair and she could have sworn she heard the air shimmer.

"No," she whispered. "It's nothing. Your making something out of nothing. The shop was just closed that's all."

Her thoughts were confirmed when a petite red headed woman and a tall blond man rounded the corner into the street in front of her. They were chatting to each other amiably and were obviously a couple by the way they were holding hands and looking into each others eyes. In an instant, Billie's fear evaporated and she almost laughed out loud at her own stupidity. Her panic melted away just as quickly as her fear and she felt herself relax. This witch thing was getting to her, she decided, if she was jumping at every odd occurrence.

But then the petite redhead smiled, eyes glinting violently, showing perfect white teeth, and suddenly things didn't seem quite right…

Then she realised why.

There had been a sign on the shops door. Saying _open_. Not closed. That shop should have been full. It was a beautiful day, the city was filled, almost clogged, with people. Walking around and going about their business. But there was no one here.

And those smudges hadn't been shadows. She now knew why they had looked like smudges. They were ash. Left behind after a demon attack…

And the redhead wasn't human. Neither was her boyfriend.

She heard the air shimmer.

She looked to her left, seeing two more demons shimmer in, and then to her right, seeing another two appear. Billie smiled at the redheaded demon, she wasn't going to panic, she wasn't going to let them scare her…if, when, they attacked her, she had to stay focused. It didn't matter that she hadn't taken on six demons at once before, this wasn't a practise, she couldn't just say "sorry I don't really know how to be a witch yet…attack me in a few years."

She almost laughed aloud at the thought.

She readied herself to fight, reaching inwards, feeling her power flow, the redhead was smiling at her…but then she was looking behind the witch with an expression of annoyance and then she smirked coldly.

"Looks like a mortal got caught in our little trap."

Billie turned with the demons, and her heart sank as she saw the motorcyclist still standing in the car park…apparently oblivious to the danger he was in. Run, she wanted to scream, your going to die you idiot! The demons laughed gleefully, and looked at her, there eyes saying that he would die, that she would lose one of her fist innocents. The circle around her closed in, but they weren't attacking yet. These demons had her cornered and they knew it, they wanted to gloat, they thought themselves powerful enough to stop anything she did…they were going to pay for underestimating her.

But, for now, she would play along.

"What do we have here? A witch? Not a very impressive one. You and that mortal are going to die. Preferably horribly but I'm not really that fussed." the redhead mocked, unconcerned that the mortal could run away at any moment, or that the unimpressive witch could vanquish her.

"What do we have here? A demon? Not a very smart one. You and your demon friends are very stupid. Maybe even brain-dead if you think I'm just going to die quietly." Billie said before she could stop herself, feeling a rush at being so flippant in the face of death.

The redhead glared at her, eyes feral and cold and powerful, and Billie remembered that she was talking to a demon, but she still tried to appear outwardly relaxed. The demon snarled at her. "We've got ourselves a bit of a joker here." she ground out. "Lets see well she'll mock us when she's chocking on her own blood."

It happened just like that.

The demons all glared at her together, powering up energy balls, and Billie slipped back into her earlier defensive stance. However, she was interrupted by a loud coughing sound that seemed to make even the demons pause. Without taking her eyes of the demons, she looked towards the sound of the coughing…so did they.

It was the man by the motorbike.

He looked like he was choking…but it was loud, exaggerated coughs that make Billie raise an eyebrow. Finally, he stopped, and his helmet swivelled to look over to them, and seeing them staring, he tilted his head as if in confusion. "Don't mind me. I'm just choking on my own blood over here. May as well get it over with."

He sounded oddly…cheerful.

"After all when you guys have finished with your little chit chat your going to come over here and kill me so I should really get it over and done with to save you the trouble. There's that nasty business with the little spell you have going on here that's stopping me from escaping so I'm going to die anyway."

The red head looked amused. "And here I thought mortals were completely humourless."

This time, his voice sounded confused. "Oh. I'm not a mortal. And I think I've become bored with chocking on my own blood…dying is so overrated. So is letting some irritating demons 'off' me. I think I'll like to live thanks."

Billie laughed; the demons didn't. Huh, she thought, I wonder why.

It just sounded like something Paige would say, one of her sarcastic little retorts, and Billie couldn't help but think her friend would either be the best of friends with this guy…or hate his guts.

The redhead pointed to three of her demons. "You three, _kill_ him. The rest of you, help me kill the witch."

The tall man the redhead was with nodded and took two of the demons over to the car park. Billie didn't even have time to think about helping him before three demons attacked her with energy balls. She dodged the electric projectiles and flung out her hand, sending one demon flying; her bag dropping to the ground in the process. Another energy ball was flung towards her, but she sent it back to the demon that created it, hearing the _whoosh _of the air as her weapon disrupted the air currents, feeling the crackle of electricity. The demon was hit right in the chest and was flung backwards, exploding in a shower of black ash.

But then she had to dodge a blast of cyan that almost took of her head as it whirled past her ear. She could feel the heat of it, the power, the fury, and she could hear the crackle and hiss of it. Anger and fear exploded out of nowhere. Because that was meant to kill her and it had almost done its job and they had _tried to kill her_.

Without even knowing what she was doing she hissed at the demon who had attacked her.

"_Ash_."

The demon…disintegrated, turning to, well, ash, before her eyes. There was no delay, her will was enacted immediately, and the demon didn't even have time to register surprise before it was dead.

The redhead turned to her in shock, face a picture of anger, but Billie wasn't done yet. Fury pounded in her eyes, pumped through her veins, fed her heart and she _needed to know_.

"_Why did you attack me?"_

"We were ordered too." the demon gritted her teeth but could not stop herself.

"_Why? Why did they want me dead?"_

"You were…nosing around. Looking into demonic business that had nothing to do with you. Today was the final push. The demon wanted you out of way so that you could not interfere with her plans." the demon spat, eyes practically spitting fire.

The business. Rod. Kidnappings. A final question…

"_Where is Christy? Where is my sister?"_

"I have no idea_." _the demon looked amused and elated to know that there was a question that she couldn't answer. "And, if ever I do find her, I'll kill her just so that you never see her again."

And that was the final straw, fear overpowered her, sadness enveloped her, and the magic broke, and the demon shimmered away.

Billie blinked.

What the hell had she done? How had she done it? She had just killed a demon…by willing it to die. That could not be normal. And then she had demanded the truth and the demon had just given it to her. It was like she had forced her will on them. How? She felt dazed and tired and scared. But there was still the man to save…the innocent who wasn't mortal. So she turned and instead of seeing him being killed by demons she saw three, almost neat, piles of ash on the floor. The motorcyclist was standing unharmed.

She blinked again.

As she watched, he got on his motorbike and rode over to her. His head was tilted in that thoughtful way of his.

"Well," he said calmly. "You make one hell of a lie detector."

And with that he rode way, and made a left at the end of the street, the engine of his bike roaring contently. By the time she recovered from her shock, first from being attacked, then her weird powers and then the so called _mortal_ killing three demons, he was gone, as was the rumble of his bike. The witch sighed tiredly and said.

"This has _not _been a good day."

* * *

Piper sighed as she left the house.

Wyatt was at the age were he hated to sit still, and so he was toddling along next to her, every now and then smiling up at her as if to say "Are you watching? I don't need a pram; I can walk…are you watching?". Piper would smile back because, as always, she _was_ watching, and together they walked down the road. Her sons steps were halting as he struggled to keep up with her long strides but he had a boundless energy about him and didn't seem to mind the intense heat that was making Piper wish she had sent Paige out to get the milk they had run out of.

She thought about Billie for a while; she was young, but would make an excellent witch. Piper understood her pain…the loss of a sister, indeed any family member, wasn't something you just forgot, or got over. But the conversation she had had with Billie had made her think about Leo…and Chris.

Billie had talked about how her parents never acknowledged her sister, never talked about her…as if she had never existed. And how she felt like they had never tried to find her. It was silly, irrational even, but those words had made Piper think of Wyatt…would he ask her the same questions one day? Would he resent her when she told him about Chris?

A voice entered her head.

"_Why did you stop looking for him? Why didn't you find out why you never conceived him? Why don't I know my little brother?_

Even as she heard it, she couldn't say for sure what it sounded like, all she knew was that she was imagining the voice of her eldest son. No, her only son.

The street blurred in front of her as old emotions and thoughts came flooding back, the old anger over her younger sons disappearance, the sorrow as she lost him, the fury at not being able to find him, the unfairness of never knowing him. It was muted, of course, time had done it's job, but it was like an old wound that kept reopening; the dull pain remained.

Wyatt tugged at her sleeve and she was brought back to the present, the here and now. She shoved her thoughts aside, there was nothing she could do about them now. She wasn't the type to let things overwhelm her, she would continue moving forward. Leo _would_ be saved, he _would _be with her again, he _was _coming back. And, just maybe, Chris was too. Because no matter what the Wyatt in her fears said… she had never stopped looking.

She looked back down at her son, too see him looking up at her with a serious expression on his face. Smiling at him, Piper asked "What is it, sweetheart?"

He only moved his eyes so they stared ahead of him, looking down the sparsely populated street she had chosen so that he would not get lost on the way to the shop. It was out of the way, a far cry from the packed streets just a few blocks away. Piper looked in the same direction as her son and saw an elderly man, walking around as he had never seen the city before. He stumbled over to them, seemingly too caught up in his own thoughts to walk properly. Piper felt strangely amused at his awe, but also, for some reason, sad.

His eyes finally focused on them and she saw they were a light hazel, surrounded by wrinkles showing his age. They examined her, as if seeing whether she was a threat, and the Charmed One found herself surprised by the amount of wisdom there…and pain. He seemed to shake himself out of his daze, and it was then that she noticed his shabby clothing, peppered with dust and dirt, and gave her a warm smile.

"Lovely place, eh?" he stated, voice rough and quiet but laced with a strange sort of strength.

Piper blinked. "Yes. I suppose this place is very nice."

The man laughed, an elated, joyful, broken sound that, for some reason, made Piper want to cry. "You must be from before, can't blame you for not seeing what I see."

Piper felt slightly offended. "From before?"

The old man must of heard something in her tone because he replied quickly. "I didn't mean to offend you. I meant it as compliment actually. I'm glad you look confused…it would sadden me if such a young woman understood what I meant."

The word 'young' made Piper smile. Somehow, instead of being condescending, the man made it sound soft and alive. As if being young was something to look up to; not down on. "I'm pleased to see you think I'm so young. But…please. Tell me what you mean."

The old mans eyes seemed to look past her, to a ghost (or perhaps a horror?) only he could see, the sadness and pain in them shocked the Charmed One and she wished she could take back her question. But she couldn't and he began speaking anyway with that strange strength in his voice. "Ah, I will not trouble you with such things. Here is not where the past will be discussed. I will not unleash such a terror upon this place."

Piper laughed, touched by the reverent way he talked about her city. "Fair enough. I'm Piper by the way. And I'm pleased that you like San Francisco. Though a little shocked…why do you like it so much?"

The man looked at her as if the answer was obvious, though not in a cruel way. Rather, in the way of someone who is glad to be asked such a question, glad to meet someone not like themselves. He smiled and replied. "I like it so much because this is Heaven of course."

"Heaven?"

"Yes. Heaven. I've spent my whole life avoiding this place and now that I'm here I don't know why I ever delayed." the mans eyes lit up as he spoke, the utter conviction he had in his words conveyed in his voice.

Piper suddenly felt very cold, and Wyatt abruptly held her hand very tightly. "But we are not in Heaven."

She hated to break it to him, and the words were hard to get out, but he didn't seem to mind. He just smiled that joyful smile and said. "Of course we are, where else would we be? Look at the sky! See how bright and shimmering and blue it is. And the buildings…they are clean and polished and tall. I can hear birds and cars and the distant thud of peoples feet. This place is alive and it is whole and beautiful. Where else is like that? Where else _could_ this be?"

"Your not dead. _I'm_ not dead." Piper replied. What the hell had happened to this guy?

"Of course we are. I am finally free." the man insisted, his wrinkles deepening as he spoke, his eyes alight. "Finally free…"

Piper didn't know what to say, the milk was forgotten, and so she only squeezed Wyatt's hand to let him know she was there. And then she watched in horror as the mans face changed, he looked confused, a hand was raised to his chest, over his heart. Suddenly he dropped like a stone and then he was laying on the floor and then he was gasping for breath and then she was running to his side, trying to help him up.

"What's happening?" he asked her, his eyes wide.

"I don't know. Stay calm. I'm calling an ambulance." Piper assured him, reaching shaking hands into her pocket to pull out her phone. Wyatt was standing solemnly beside her, face serious and eyes as wide as the mans.

"Don't be silly." the man laughed and she saw his panic recede. "You can't _die _in Heaven. This is probably just someone trying to revive my body. It will pass. I've already moved on. Nothing can drag me back now."

Piper dialled 911 and spoke hurriedly, wanting to get back to the man dying on the floor, from the symptoms she described, they said he was in shock and had probably had a heart attack. After getting of the phone, Piper tried to keep him calm, and that proved to be no problem at all.

He looked up at her happily, still not believing he was going to die, or that he was in any danger. "I wonder if my wife is here, she left quite a while ago you know, and my daughter. I don't know how Heaven works…but I'll be able to see them, right?"

"Yes." Piper replied, her mouth dry. The sight of the mans eyes looking at her so earnestly impossible to refuse. "You'll be able to see them."

"Good." he whispered, smiling. And then, louder. "You'll help me look for them Piper? Oh my goodness, I've been so rude, I didn't even tell you my name. I am-"

But then his breathing stopped and his posture relaxed and he stilled. That smile, the smile that had made it seem like everything was right in the world, still frozen on his face.

Piper froze and it was only when Wyatt reached forwards, a golden glow below his fingers, that she realised that her son could have healed him, but that her mind had never even thought of the possibility. And Wyatt had probably been to frozen to try. It was his eyes, she decided, so sure in there conviction that death was no threat, that had ensnared her and made her believe it too. It seemed like a cruel joke that that one thing, that thing that he had so believed in, had proven to be false.

She heard sirens.

And she pulled her son away and folded him into her arms when he looked at her through tearful eyes, as though he understood that the man would never speak again, that the vacant look in his eyes was not sleep, that he would never laugh in that joyful way. She comforted him softly, and wished for Leo to be there, and then, almost involuntarily, she looked at the body…at the _man. _The man that had died before even giving her his name.

And she realised, as she thought about the strength in his voice, that she knew what it was. It was survival. The hard, stubborn gift of never giving up. That's why he looked so happy; because he had achieved something. Because he had gotten somewhere.

The shock would be more than medical and she suspected she knew one of the reasons why it had occurred.

He had thought he was in Heaven. There would be no soldiering on. He went into shock because for the last God knows how long all he had been doing was getting by, and now he was faced with a life where he no longer had to 'just live'. Heaven. Paradise.

…a place where he could be free.

* * *

Hmm, what's going on? Who was that guy? Who had that cool sounding motorbike? What's with the world bending? Where is Chris?

I'm sure those are questions this chapter brought up. They will be answered lol. Sorry about the shortness of this chapter, I need to get back in the swing of things and also…well, not much is happening now XD. Please review and tell me what you think.


	3. The Lord and The Lady

Chapter 2-The Lord and The Lady

* * *

Piper sat in the hospital waiting room.

Wyatt was beside her, sitting still for once. Well, more like _laying _still, his head on her lap. It was bright outside, and looked like day, but it felt like night to her...it felt like the whole day had gone by. The ambulance had arrived at the scene and tried to resuscitate the man. It had failed. She remembered standing there, feeling out of place, willing him to breath. She didn't know why she felt so involved, she had only known him for a few minutes…but he had seemed so _nice_. And so lost.

She stroked Wyatt's hair absently.

She thought about his ramblings of heaven…of the time 'before' and she felt sorry for him. She knew that her city was far from paradise. It was simply normality. And the fact that, to him, something that seemed so everyday to her, was so sacred, make her scowl at the unfairness of it all.

A nurse came over with two police officers, telling her that they would like to ask her a few questions about what had happened. She nodded.

"We are trying to find out whether he had any family. Did he tell you anything before he died?" one of them asked. Voice gentle but firm. He obviously did this a lot the witch noticed absently.

"Yes. He said that his wife and daughter were dead. I don't know anything else though…I don't even know his name." Piper replied softly. Her mind thinking back to the words he had spoke, the acceptance he had expressed even when he thought he was dead. The fire in his eyes…the life when he talked about his wife and daughter despite the fact that they were probably long gone. Long dead.

"Its alright Mrs Halliwell. Can you remember anything else?" the police officer said, she wondered how he knew her name but then remembered the nurse telling them. He sounded kind and interested, as if what she had too say would make all the difference in the world and, she supposed, it would.

"About what?" She asked looking at both the police officers in turn, the one that was writing done what she was saying gave her an encouraging smile. "What he said or how he looked?"

"What he said please, Mrs Halliwell." one of them confirmed.

"Yes, I remember him talking about San Francisco as if it was the most amazing place he had ever seen. He looked in awe when I first approached him and was stumbling around like he was overwhelmed." she began, trying to explain in as much detail as she could. But thinking back about someone who was dead was hard. "I asked him where he thought he was and he replied that he thought this was heaven. He'd been through something horrible but wouldn't talk about it. Then he just…collapsed, he believed he couldn't die but he did. I called 911 as soon as he fell."

The two men nodded and she was asked "Did he look like he was in any pain when you approached him…or running from something?"

"No. He looked calm, and was walking quite slowly. Why? Do you think someone made him that way? Do you think someone did that?" Piper asked, she felt sick at the very thought that someone could hurt someone else that much that the very first city they saw seemed like Heaven.

"We are not sure." one of them replied, as he stood up, handing her a card with a phone number on it. "We are currently investigating what may of happened, if you remember anything else, no matter how unimportant it seems, don't hesitate to call us. You have been incredibly helpful and we may have to com back sometime in the next few days to ask a few more questions…can we have your current address?"

Piper nodded and gave them the Manors address, slipping the card into her pocket as the men walked away, and stroked Wyatt's blond hair from his place on her lap. He looked up at her quietly and she allowed herself a smile. "Come on, lets see if we can go home yet."

The boy grinned at her and hopped of the chair, no longer as solemn. Piper allowed herself a sigh of relief, she had almost been regretting bringing the child out with her. She could have always let him stay at magic school. Piper wished it was that easy for her to move on as it had been for Wyatt. But she couldn't help but think of how much that man thought he was already dead and how much that hurt her. Though she couldn't help but think back to what he said, how he appeared, what he must have seen and she allowed herself to smile for him.

Maybe he is in a better place after all.

* * *

The red motorbike sped down the road.

It weaved through the traffic smoothly, the red paint glinting almost mischievously when the suns rays caught it at just the right angel. Occasionally, as it darted down the busy roads, it was followed by the honking of car horns and a few shouted curses. This usually happened when the bike dodged through the gaps between cars at the last moment.

The bike continued this way for a few miles, the rider seemingly making his was out of the city, or, at least, to the outskirts. On these quieter roads, away from the city centre, the motorbike sped up with a gleeful sounding roar of its engine. The sun still beat down from it's place high in the sapphire sky; shining like a jewel with infinite light and energy. The rider had a brief competition with another motorcyclist, this time on a silver bike, to see how many fancy tricks they could do while dodging cars. After a while though, the two parted ways which a respectful nod at the stranger that had been their opponent.

And so the bike continued down the roads.

After a while, the rider suddenly jerked the red bike to an almost stop, hands clenching on the handlebars, his right hand and foot finding the brakes. The street was empty and the red helmet twisted this way and that as the he examined his surroundings. The situation reminded him too much of what had happened just a hour or so before…

A piercing whine.

The rider looked down at his bike, looking as alarmed as a person wearing a helmet can, before he stopped completely, in the middle of the road, and got of the motorbike. There was no one to comment of his strange behaviour as he promptly backed away from the bike, posture showing that he was trying to figure out what was wrong.

BOOM.

He was too late, it seemed, and he hadn't gotten further enough away from the bike. Whatever he had been about to do was now useless. The rider was blown backwards by the force of the explosion and landed on his back a few metres away. The motorbike erupted in a violent burst of gold and red flame. The fire shrieked as it leapt into the air, seeming to reach for the pure blue sky; seeming to reach for the sun as if it was a child reaching for its mother. Metal parts of the motorbike were flung in all directions, landing on the floor creating a ring of burning debris around the large bonfire that was the bike.

"And _that_ is what happens when you _refuse_ to _die_ when your supposed to." a voice said sweetly.

The man groaned in pain then sat up, the red helmet swivelling in all directions, trying to find the speaker. When he couldn't find who had spoken he lay back down quickly with an irritated, and completely dismissing, sounding huff.

A woman materialised out of the shadows. She had short brown hair and a lined face; giving her the look of a middle aged woman. However, the fact that she was obviously a demon put her at much, much older. She had an expression of pure fury on her face and she was at the riders position in barely five strides. Without warning she aimed a kick at his side, the force of her increased strength palpable from the loud crack that sounded. Her fury was abated somewhat by the surprised and pained gasp that resulted from her assault.

"Kick a man when he's down why don't you?" the mans words brought the fire back into her eyes. "Now that is a thing called cowardice."

She only smiled innocently and went to kick him again but the man caught her foot and pulled, using her momentum to cause her to fall to the floor. She was up again in an instant, but so was the rider she had tried to kick. The demon smiled coldly as he swayed and, with a dizzy sounding 'woah', fell to one knee and then tipped sideways and hit the asphalt on his side. She used her foot to roll him onto his back and smirked down at where she imagined his eyes would be behind his helmet.

"Explosions are powerful things." she stated. "I wouldn't try to get up for a while if I were you."

"Damn straight." he replied cheerfully, oddly at ease with being in the presence of a demon, one that could probably kill him if she wanted to.

"You killed three of my demons." the woman began in a cold sort of hiss.

"Look, lady, I'm sorry, but I wasn't exactly going to let them kill me. And, well, I'm a witch, you're a demon, that's the way these things work, isn't it?" he replied casually.

"A witch?" the demon seemed interested. "Lyra told me you were a mortal that somehow had knowledge of magic."

"And how did she come to that conclusion?" the rider sounded offended, as if he was used to being recognised. "Let me guess, she used her supreme powers of deduction to come to that _obviously _right assumption?"

"How did you know?" the demon asked dryly, continuing to make clear that was a rhetorical question. "But, still, now that I know you're a witch…how about in exchange for your life you help me with something?"

"What?"

"Oh, just a little murder. The girl that was in that street" the demon replied sounding all too gleeful and casual to be discussing a murder. But, then again, this was a demon…not your average randomer.

"A murder…and why do you think I'd help you? I'm a witch you know. I won't just let you kill one of my own." the man replied thoughtfully, an edge of threat in his words.

"Oh?" the demon replied, a fireball forming in her hands, smirking as she threw it into the air and caught it again. The threat was obvious, but she elaborated anyway. "I can kill you right now. If you help me you have a chance to live. Granted, you may be killed attempting to help me, but it's not definite."

"This isn't just about the murder…is it?" the man stated. "You want to warn me never to interfere in your business again."

The demon smiled in a feral, wild, sort of way, as she extinguished the fireball by crushing it into smoke. The effect made her look like the creature she was. "I'm glad we understand each other. Now, about the girl-"

"The lie detector?"

"Yes, the lie detector." the demon agreed, tone irritated at being interrupted. "She's close friends with the Charmed Ones, I want you to-"

"Are you crazy?" the man exclaimed. "The _Charmed Ones_? No way am I going up against them. Forget my life not being definite…if I help you I'm _dead_."

"If you _don't _help me your dead." the woman reminded him.

"Yeah, but I have a loyalty to them. Their the most powerful witches of this, and probably every other, century, I can't just betray them." the man replied stubbornly. "And there's the fact that they will probably kill me if I so much as touch a hair on that girls head."

"If we do this right no one will find out. Now. Are you going for immediate death or do you want to prolong it?" the demon replied, conjuring another fireball in her hand, face threatening, tone cold.

"Oh no, we're not done yet." the man replied. "Why do you need my help? You could have got any witch you wanted…any demon you wanted, to help you. Don't give me this crap about revenge or whatever. Why me?"

"Because," the demon replied coldly. "you just happened to be in the right place at the right time."

She got the impression, after she had spoken, that the witch was scowling behind his red helmet. But he didn't ask anymore questions and, when she flexed the hand with the fireball in it as if in preparation for throwing it, the man voiced his assent.

"Fine." he ground out. "You win. But how are you going to guarantee that I don't betray you?"

The demon only smiled, and told him her plan.

* * *

Billie slowly made her way back to the manor.

Only, halfway there, she realised that she had to go and pick her parents up soon and rushed the last few blocks towards the house. The heat had started to dissipate as the day went on, and the sun wasn't as high in the sky, but the warmth seemed to hang in the air. Billie found herself feeling uncomfortably hot; despite her usual immunity to the hot temperatures of her city…the fact that she was practically jogging to the Charmed Ones ancestral home was probably the problem.

"Phoebe?" Billie asked loudly upon entering the manor.

"Billie?" Phoebe's voice sounded, from the living room of her home, she seemed slightly distracted and the witch could here the distant murmur of her typing on a keyboard.

"Can I borrow your car? I have to pick up my parents and I don't want to get a taxi because they'll complain and get irritated at me and-" Billie replied, speaking quickly and unconsciously getting quieter with every word she spoke.

"Hey, slow down." Phoebe interrupted as she walked into the hallway. "What is it?"

"I need to pick up my parents and I was wondering if I could borrow you car." Billie asked, still slightly out of breath from having to rush all the way back to the manor. Her mind was still reeling from the demon attack and what she had done to the demons. Because she was sure that whatever she had done wasn't the norm. But it was too late to bother Phoebe now. She would do it later on; after the dinner with her parents. "I promise I'll be careful and make sure it gets back in one piece."

"Ok. But if you crash then you are paying for the damage." Phoebe warned with a good natured glare.

Billie smiled. "Thanks."

She turned to walk towards the door but Phoebe called out to her. "Make sure you're here on time! Piper gets cranky when guests are late. Something about the food getting cold."

"Don't worry." Billie muttered, mostly to her self, seemingly unaware that she was even saying anything. "I don't even know how I'm going to survive the hours _before _dinner. There is no way in hell I'm going to be late."

Unlocking Phoebes car and getting in, the witch reversed out of the driveway and a few minutes later she was driving down the main road. Looking at the time she saw that she had ten minutes to get to where her parents would be waiting for her. A feeling of anxiety washed over the witch, an old feeling mixed with memories of issued detention slips, a broken vase and the smell of burning toast. It was familiar, yet odd in its clarity. Billie thought that her years as an adult would have dimmed this feeling, the sense of looking up to parents _that _much taller than you when only eleven years old.

The woman swerved to avoid a car changing lanes.

Sighing softly, she remembered why they had really been invited over. It was for Christy. She had to be found…and her parents might know something about what happened. Billie felt the old resentment, the old anger, hot but cold, well inside her mind, frustration and irritation. It pushed aside the anxiety, butted it out of the way with a snarl, and she felt her confidence return at the thought of her sisters disappearance. This wasn't about her, she wouldn't be that selfish, Christy needed to be found, she deserved to be safe, and Billie wasn't going to jeopardise that because she was too scared to stand up to her parents.

No. This was for Christy.

As she turned a corner, coming to a smooth stop by the pavement, a stretch of road her parents were standing beside, she felt confident and ready. Half thought of insecurities forgotten. Getting out of the silver car, she gave each of them a hug, noticing with half amusement and half worry the uncomfortable, out of place looks on their both their faces. Beckoning them into the car, she piled their suitcases in and then walked back round to the drivers seat.

Putting her seatbelt on, she smiled at her father, noting the way he hadn't changed. She saw the seriousness in his dark brown eyes but absently saw not a hint of grey in his hair. Her mother was much the same, blond hair still full, if a little short for Billie's liking. Both looked middle aged and gave off the same solemn vibe they always did.

Billie hid her grimace and instead said cheerfully. "You guys ready to see my school?"

Her dad nodded, either not noticing her discomfort or ignoring it through years of practise. "That's why we're here."

Billie snorted mentally and thought "Great start dad. Just tell me that you want to leave as soon as possible." Outwardly, however, she remained calm and somehow kept her smile intact. Her college was, luckily, only a few blocks away and Billie couldn't wait to get there so that she could at least pretend to have something to talk about with her parents. Currently, there was a slightly strained silence in the car and Billie longed for something to just _happen _already.

As if in response, a familiar red motorbike darted past her car, the engine roaring loudly. A silver motorbike was in pursuit and the two riders looked to by playing some sort of game. Billie raised an eyebrow at their antics but wasn't the first to speak, her mother was.

"Kids these days." the woman sighed. "So immature."

"It's alright mom, their only trying to weave through the traffic the best they can," Billie reassured her mother, voice soothing and calm…confident. "I bet their new on their bikes and haven't got the hang of busy traffic yet."

As if to prove her wrong, the red rider pulled of a tricky manoeuvre where he changed lanes several times, at breakneck speed, cutting into the other motorbikes path numerous times. The silver bike seemed offended and did the same thing perfectly, as if challenged. Billie found her words contradicted by the ease in which both riders handled their bikes.

Her mother, to her surprise, laughed, before catching sight of her husbands face and changing her expression to a frown. Billie's husband rolled his eyes before allowing himself a small smile and saying dryly "They _must _be beginners with the way they ride their bikes."

Billie frowned but after a few seconds she smiled with them.

They drive continued; the ice broken.

* * *

Piper sighed as she began to prepare dinner.

Today had not been a good day, she had seen someone's life end, someone leave this world, and here she was cooking as if nothing had happened. Death occurred a lot in their, that is her and her sisters, lives and she hated the fact that it had become almost normal for someone to die. She had become almost numb to it. Pulling ingredients out of their places, the witch thought about why this one death had affected her so much…if she had seen so much already.

The answer was that it had taken her of guard.

This hadn't been a demon attack, a life or death situation, or even a circumstance laced with fear…all she had done was walk out her door on a normal day and, suddenly, somebody had _died _right in front of her.

She was in shock, she decided.

But maybe he had been right, with his mumblings of heaven, and he really was in a better place. He had looked so lost and alone; sounded so weary but strong. It wasn't fair that he was gone, was never going to be fair no matter when he had died, and the Charmed One thought that she could perhaps find solace in the fact that he had lived for a long time. But a part of her realised she didn't really understand what that meant…had he suffered his entire life? And then she thought of what he had said about San Francisco; about it being heaven, and she hoped that her city, her normal city, was not where he had ended up. Otherwise it felt too much like he had been cheated out of paradise, when he deserved more, just because he had known no better.

But who was she to be so upset…so sad? She had not known him, she had not met him before…she hadn't even known his name. So who was she to mourn him as if she had?

It was only when she realised that she had been staring of into space for five minutes or so that she shook herself out of her thoughts. She remembered that Phoebe was in the house, and knew nothing about what had happened, and that Wyatt was upstairs (waiting to be picked up to go to magic school for the duration of the evening)…and that she had other responsibilities.

"Piper?"

Her sister asked, walking into the kitchen and leaning on the counter. Piper turned around and gave the younger witch a wry smile and asked. "What? Shouldn't you be writing your column?"

"Yeah." Phoebe gave her a sheepish smile. "I'm taking a break."

"Taking a break?" Piper raised a eyebrow, glad that Phoebe hadn't asked her if anything was wrong. "Since when do you take a break in the middle of your column?"

Phoebe walked over to the cupboard and took out a mug; then walked over to the coffee machine and, seeing it was empty, turned back to her older sister (who was giving her an expectant look) and asked "Do we have anymore coffee?"

Piper mock glared at her sister, seeing through the seemingly oblivious question in an instant. "Phoebe, your not fooling me. Don't avoid the question. Spill."

Phoebe smiled guiltily. "I'm not avoiding the question. I'm just-"

"Avoiding the question." Piper finished bluntly, her tone leaving room for no argument.

"Ok, fine." Phoebe conceded. She sighed and then continued. "I'm having a little trouble with my column. I can't write it. I have no idea what so ever for what I think they should do."

"Your having trouble with your _column_?" Piper asked in disbelief, sure she had heard wrong. When Phoebe gave her a embarrassed glare, the witch realised that she was telling the truth…and that she was more worried about it than she was letting on. "Ok, I'm sorry. I believe you…what's it about?"

Phoebe seemed relieved. "It's about a girl that is a twin and she's worried that she won't be able to open up to her boyfriend because she is so close to her sister. And I thought that it would be easy, since you, me and Paige are all so close but…it's nothing like I expected."

Piper nodded. "So what do you think?"

"That's the point. I don't even know what I think. And my deadline is tomorrow." Phoebe replied, her tone thick with worry and frustration.

"Well, I think that your getting yourself too worked up about this. Maybe you should take a break…relax until dinner and then after we eat you can go back to it and…you never know, you might have more luck." Piper suggested. Then, hit by a sudden thought the witch asked "Where is Paige anyway?"

The younger sister shrugged. "I think she went to talk to Henry."

"The cop?" Piper asked.

"Parole Officer." Phoebe corrected.

"She's going to be back in time for dinner, right?" Piper asked. "Billie needs our support for tonight."

"Support?" Phoebe questioned. "It's her parents…not Godzilla."

"Yeah, but Billie tells me that her and her parents don't exactly…see eye to eye. She resents them for what happened to Christy and, in her view, they have done nothing to find her sister. We talked earlier and I think she's going to need us there tonight." Piper explained, recalling Billie's pained expression and sad eyes when she had spoken of her past with her parents.

"They didn't even try to find her?" Phoebe looked, and sounded, quite angry. Her own desire for a child of her own reflected in her eyes. Piper thought that she must not understand how someone could give up what she so coveted.

"Apparently not." Piper confirmed, she too could not believe such a thing. Even when…Chris had disappeared she had searched for him. She had never stopped. And he hadn't even been her son yet; she had only known him about a year…yet they had known Christie for about five years before she had disappeared.

Phoebe gave her a look that seemed to pierce right into her soul and Piper was reminded that even though both her and Paige had taken a potion to block her empathic powers, and that her powers had then been taken away last year, the witch often didn't need them to read both her sisters. "Your thinking about Chris aren't you?"

Piper sighed and turned away. Back to the food. Well, the ingredients…and said nothing.

"Now who's avoiding the question?" Phoebe stated wryly.

Piper turned back, knowing that avoiding the question would get her nowhere, she had already proven that, and replied. "Yes."

Phoebe raised an eyebrow, signalling for her older sister to continue.

"I just…he disappeared two _years _ago, and we still haven't found him. With all our power; he's still missing." Piper replied softly.

"Honey, we _will _find him. The instant we get any clues as to what might have happened to him…we will follow them. Anyway, he's not powerless, he can take care of himself, remember?" Phoebe explained, trying to reassure her elder sister.

Piper nodded. She didn't say that that was what she was afraid of, that nothing had happened to her son but after Wyatt had been saved he had just…wanted to disappear; he would certainly have the means too. She didn't say that he may already be 'dead'…since she had never given birth to him. Instead, she smiled and replied

"I know."

* * *

The doorbell sounded.

Piper answered it, surprised that Billie had lasted this long alone with her parents. Based on what she had been told, the witch had expected Billie to be at the manor door within an hour of meeting with them. She had been glad when the hours had gone by and the young witch had stayed out…it meant that she had solved the problems with the people who had raised her. Or, at least, partly solved them. In the time that Piper had been cooking dinner, Paige had arrived home, just when the oldest Charmed One had begun to worry that she'd be late. Wyatt was at magic school, the teachers looking after him. Piper was glad that the demonic takeover that had been attempted while her and her sisters had been 'dead' had failed.

Billie stood on her doorstep, a blond woman with soft brown eyes on her left, a man with dark brown hair and darker, more steely, brown eyes on her right.

Piper smiled warmly and invited them in. "Come in, it's a pleasure to meet you Mr and Mrs Jenkins. Dinner is almost ready."

Billie's mother smiled back and replied. "Please, call us Helene and Carl."

"Ok then Helene." Piper agreed, testing the name out loud. "Dinner will only be a minute so if you'll take a seat I'll be right with you."

"We brought something for you." Carl said casually, handing Piper a bottle of wine he had somehow kept hidden when she opened the door. "We didn't think it was right to have dinner with you without contributing."

"Thank you." Piper replied, giving the couple a wide smile. They seemed perfectly nice to her; she didn't understand what Billie had been so upset about. But it wasn't the fact that they were nice that was being disputed here, she realised, it was the fact that they had not looked for Christy. She sighed mentally as she let them over to the table and motioned for them to sit down. Phoebe and Paige had already seated themselves and, as she walked into the kitchen, Piper could hear the introductions echoing from behind her.

Once in the kitchen she checked on all the dishes and then, seeing that they weren't quite done yet, opened the bottle of wine and walked back into the hall, pouring everyone a glass of wine. Sitting at her place at the table, she informed them that the dinner wasn't quite ready yet.

"Was your trip here pleasant?" Phoebe asked, trying to start a conversation with Billie's parents.

"Yes, it was. The flight was short and so we are not too jetlagged." Carl replied pleasantly, taking a sip of his wine.

"Of course there was the small scare with those motorcyclists when Billie was driving us here. She seemed to think that they were new on the road…but they seemed quite comfortable." Helene interjected her tone light and amused.

"Mom!" Billie replied, her voice cheerful but slightly embarrassed.

Phoebe seemed slightly alarmed. "Small scare?"

"Don't worry," Billie assured her. "Your car is still in one piece. The motorcyclists only made some dangerous looking manoeuvres…that's all."

"It's a wonder they haven't killed themselves already. Pulling stunts like that." Billie's mother added, but she was smiling. Then, changing the subject she said. "Your home is very nice. It looks very old…must have a lot of history?"

Piper nodded. "Yes, it's our ancestral home actually…been in our family for generations."

"Really?" Helene seemed genuinely interested. "That isn't something you hear about every day. A lot of people nowadays have only had their homes a few years. Like us…we are the first generation of our family to live in our house."

"But my parents have a castle in Wales that's been our families for hundreds of years." Carl added with a straight face before starting to laugh. His wife hit him lightly on the arm but she was laughing too. Billie snorted but covered it with a cough, and the Charmed Ones grinned at one another.

Piper decided that the food must be ready by now and so got to her feet and excused herself, walking back into the kitchen. This time, when she checked on the dishes they were cooked to her satisfaction, and she began to dish up the food. Thinking back to how the evening had gone so far, Piper felt confident that things would continue to go well.

Little did she know how wrong she was.

* * *

"Do you understand what you've got to do?"

The demons words were hissed, almost spat, laced with irritation. She didn't know how anyone could be as annoying as the witch she was talking to. Every single she said he had to contradict, like a small child asking questions to everything, and she was rapidly losing her patience. She was saved from killing the man when he nodded.

"Sure." He replied flippantly. "I get it. I'm not stupid you know."

She got the impression that he was laughing at her…and she didn't like it. So, to prove a point, she reached down and, grabbing the front of his jacket, easily lifted him of the ground with her demonic strength and kneed him in the stomach before tossing him a few metres. Her hit the ground hard and, though she didn't hear anything break, the demon felt satisfied. She felt her fury abate somewhat , feeling calm flow through her once more. The motorcyclist sat up quickly enough, still not ready to stand yet, and had the nerve to sound annoyed.

"What did I _do_?" he asked loudly with a slight cough, irritation in his tone. "You, my demonic friend, have some severe anger management issues."

"I'm a demon. I don't need a reason. But…since you asked so _nicely_, this is to remind you just who your dealing with. I set your motorbike to explode, and if you cross me, or attempt to get out of our little deal, you'll be dead before you even realise I know what you've done. I'm not one to mess with. And don't think you can plan anything without me knowing it." the demon replied, choosing not to tell him how she had managed to blow up his bike, or how she had tracked him…she wasn't stupid.

The witch nodded.

"Good. So. If you stick to the plan then you should live. But stray from it…"

"Yeah, you'll kill me, I know. Contrary to what you believe I do listen-"

"In any case. Don't be late." the demon interrupted, spinning on her heel and sauntering back the way she had come…the shadowy side of a building. She didn't feel like shimmering…not yet. Not until she had determined whether he was going to try to attack her. Listening carefully, she didn't here him move and sensed no threats coming towards her unprotected back, there were no whispered words of a spell. Smirking as she shimmered away she called out.

"And don't try to kill me. I have, how to put it?, _friends _in high places."

And then she was gone.

The motorcyclist stared after her silently for a few seconds, as if wondering whether she had actually gone, before stumbling gingerly to his feet. Swaying slightly despite his caution, he took a few seconds to steady himself before he started to walk towards the pieces of his motorbike then, thinking better of it, turned and walked down the street with steps that grew in confidence, and steadiness, with every step he took. With a last, almost mournful, glance back at the ruined bike, he turned the corner, a hand taking of his helmet.

"Damn demons."

* * *

The dinner had gone better than Billie had thought.

It was a good thing…a really good thing. Wonderful, really, she could get her parents all relaxed and open with the Charmed Ones and then she could ask them about Christy. They were having a good time, she could see that, and the sisters also looked very happy. She had been worried about today, thought that the dinner was sure to be a disaster, and here it was going to perfectly. It was what she had wanted, what she had needed and yet…

She felt miserable.

No, she didn't feel miserable, she felt angry. Her heart was filled with singing, immeasurable fury and she had no idea why. It was weird. This was what she had wanted. What she needed. She had been hoping that her parents and her friends would get along. But now they were she felt so incredibly angry and frustrated and it was weird and strange and she didn't understand why.

Phoebe gave her a worried glance but Billie ignored it, she could get through this, and tuned back into the conversation.

"I can certainly believe that you used to be a chief." her father was saying to Piper, smile open and warm. "The food is very nice."

"Maybe you can teach Billie some of your tricks." Her mother added.

Billie half-heartedly moved the food on her plate around a little. She had eaten almost everything and was trying to distract herself and figure out why she was so angry. It wasn't working, the feeling just kept building and building, getting stronger and stronger with every word and _laugh_.

"I'll try," Piper replied, getting to her feet after drinking the last of her wine. "But I'm afraid I have to go and get dessert now."

Billie's fury snarled inside her mind when her father laughed. How dare they! Christie was gone and they were here having dinner when they should be out looking for her and they were laughing and talking and acting like nothing had happened and they were succeeding and it _wasn't right_. She didn't know why she was so angry, but she had brought them here for Christy; so that she could find out what had happened to her…so that they could finally help. How could they not see that? How could they waste time with pretending to be happy? It was like a mask, like the mask old noble people used to wear to disguise their feelings. Back when insults were hidden in comments about the weather.

And Christy was gone and they were here and they were laughing and pretending like it didn't matter but it did and they _never talked about her_.

She stood up, a furious and deadly fire burning in her eyes, and before they had even had a chance to speak she yelled, voice practically a growl. "_You are so medieval!"_

Magic washed over them, a blue swash of light that reminded the enraged witch of waves. She heard a gasp from Phoebe and a "Uh oh" from Paige…but it was all distant, the fury was still pounding in her ears. Only now was it starting to abate and die. The transformation she had caused in her parents was unbelievable. Helene's hair grew to waist length, the locks thick and silky. A few strands of white pearls were weaved into her hair, holding it back from her face. Her casual dress changed to a long red gown, the bodice encrusted with what looked like real diamonds. A pendant hung from her throat, a ruby, and she was wearing matching earrings.

Billie dimly noticed that she looked beautiful. But then she turned to her father…

He was dressed like a knight, complete with the leather armour and metal gauntlets. His shirt had a strange symbol on it…a blood red rose with several wicked sharp looking thorns. Expression blank, she got the impression that he didn't just look like a knight; he was a knight. The gleaming sword at his hip proved it, the shield engraved with a willow tree confirmed it.

Her mother gave her a detached look, posture a picture of elegance, like she was born to be Queen. Then she turned to Billie's father and asked.

"I am unfamiliar with this place, my love."

Her words were flowing and calm, and she looked completely unaffected from finding herself in an foreign place. The witches father was much the same as he replied softly. "This place 'tis unfamiliar with me as well, does my lady wish to depart?"

"My lord, this is not our home and I find myself wanting the decorated halls of our manor, would the knight be so kind as to guide me there?" the newly dubbed Lady Helene replied.

"Oh crap." Piper said as she entered the room, a plate of cake held in her hands.

Paige turned to her, smiling wryly. "I think their going to skip dessert."

"At least it can't get any worse?" Phoebe interceded, trying to look on the bright side of the situation. Instantly she cringed at the three glares she got from Billie, Paige and Piper and then she realised that that probably wasn't the best thing to say. Things seemed to have a funny way of disregarding that statement. Maybe it was fates way of being annoying. "Sorry."

A horse whinnied from the living room.

Lord Carl smiled suddenly, standing up and helping his wife to her feet. He looked at her lovingly, making Billie want to throw up, and then exclaimed. "All is well, my love, 'tis Merlin, my noble steed, he will transport us back to Jenkins Hall.

Phoebe smiled sheepishly.

"Oops?"

* * *

"I take it your mission was a success? The voice whispered the moment Teyla entered the cave.

She hid her scowl, frustrated at the fact that the demon had sensed her coming, and let her lips curl upwards into a cold smirk. "What makes you think that I'd confirm anything to the likes of you?

"True enough." the demon replied, turning round to meet her blue eyes with his grey ones. "But you should have known better than to come here. I could kill you in an instant."

"Oh really?" the woman raised an eyebrow at his display of bravado. "I don't think that would be a smart move."

"And why not?" the demon shot back without a second to spare. "I see no reason to tiptoe around you. I know who you are. I know _what _you are. A good source of information, but nothing more than that. _Any _demon would decimate you in a fight. Any demon would be able to face you and not worry about winning…not even need to try."

Teyla shrugged of the slight, her only response a feral glint in her bright eyes, and changed the subject as if nothing had happened. Her words were phrased carefully, slyly, as if she knew something the other demon didn't. "What do you know of the…shall we say, political situation in the Underworld right now?"

"Is that what we are here to talk about? _Politics_? Alright, I'll humour you." the demon smirked condescendingly, eyes almost glowing. "The Source is dead and none have claimed the throne. A lot of the most powerful demons died with Zankou when he attempted his bid for power, and there has been no other, more powerful demons, that have, as of yet, stepped forwards to claim the Underworld as their own. But you already knew that, didn't't you?"

"Yes, and a great deal more besides." Teyla replied matching his condescending tone with one of her own, thinking about all the information she had collected about each and every contender for the throne.

"Then why do you ask me on it?" the demon asked coldly. "If you already knew so much then why did you need me?"

"I was hoping that I could help you figure something out. It isn't too hard. But I suppose you might need a little bit of help." Teyla began, talking in a light conservational tone on purpose, as if whatever she was talking about wasn't the least bit insulting at all.. She felt a surge of triumph as his expression darkened, but she moved on quickly; giving him no time to act on the insult she gave him. "The Source died years ago. _Years_. And ever since then, factions have been vying for power, squabbling like infant mortals. A new Source rises and is then killed…we have seen this happen several times. The Source is _dead_. There are _no_ strong adversaries for the throne left, but I bet you know of at least _two_ possible contenders."

Stormy grey eyes darkened with thought and then narrowed. "I can only name one-"

"Ah, you fool, that is because you are thinking with your _treachery_ and _not_ your allegiances. Come on, think awhile. You know the answer. And you can not ignore it." Teyla hissed angrily.

"You are the fool." the demon laughed suddenly. "Death is something that even a demon can't permanently circumvent. A thousand years have passed…this contender you speak of would have surfaced by now. Give up your foolish hope. Your young, I suppose it's only natural, but it is false. And I tire of your foolish notions, _die _and join your _King_."

Teyla sighed, as if in defeat, and reached to pull the chain to a necklace of from under her shirt. It looked to be silver, but silver tarnishes and this piece was thousands of years old but looked to be brand new. The chain shone with an unearthly light, the glow of powerful magic. She watched as his face changed, as he caught the scent of pure, wild magic in the air. Blue eyes flashed in triumph, Teyla had grown bored with hiding, with scheming in the shadows and had decided the time had come to make her activities more…public. Now was the time to strike. Now, after a thousand years, would be the time to crush the skulls of those who had dared to defy their ruler…

The demons eyes alighted on the figure hanging casually on the end of the chain and he looked back to her with disbelief and fury. Fireball dying even as it formed.

It was a black hellhound with an inscription on it.

"Now, who will you serve. The Triad…"

"Or the _Guild_?"

* * *

Hello guys, so, right, info time. I'm sure you noticed that Billie's parents were very different to how they were in the show. My fault. I couldn't write them as they were in the show…I didn't think it was appropriate. It didn't seem to work on the page. Anyway, I had them be uptight…but nice. And I thought it was rude that they came to dinner at the house of someone they didn't know without a contribution…or maybe I'm just being old fashioned? Eh. Either way…yes they are different and yes it is intentional.

Second point, magic school is still the same. Sigmound didn't die so he took over from Gideon as headmaster. I didn't really understand how the takeover happened anyway. How did the demons take magic school with all the magic protecting it? Again…eh. Details, details. So, magic school is still there.

Thirdly, well, Billie's parents turning into medieval people? I didn't want to bore you with a rewrite of the show so this was born. Tada.

Lastly, thanks for reading, it makes me happy to know my work is liked. Please review, I've had a couple of favourites and stuff but I think people are put off reading because its based in season eight…that season doesn't seem to be popular. And maybe some of my other readers don't know there's a sequel? Hmm, I'll have to do some promoting XD.


	4. Stairs Are Better Than Lifts

Chapter 3- Stairs Are Better Than Lifts

* * *

"Oops?" Piper stated in disbelief. "Is that _all _you can say?"

"Don't look at me! Billie's the one who turned her parents into…" Phoebe looked at the couple with a considering look. As if trying to figure them out. "Whoever they are now."

"It couldn't have been me. I didn't use a spell or a potion or anything. That's not possible. So it couldn't have been me." Billie protested in disbelief, her eyes wide as she looked at her parents. Despite her words, she knew that it _had _to have been her, she had done something similar earlier as well. "I couldn't have done this."

"Well it looks like you did." Paige supplied unhelpfully.

"How?" Billie crossed her arms stubbornly deciding that until she had complete and utter proof that it had been her that had done whatever it was that had happened, she would not believe it.

"You've obviously developed a new-" Piper paused, waving her hands at the couple that were just beginning to exit the room to freeze them before continuing. "-power. That's the only explanation. Your growing as a witch and so is your magic…this is evidently a manifestation of whatever power your getting."

Billie sent an uncomfortable glance to her parents, both of them frozen just as they were getting up. It was unnerving to see them so still, like marble statures cast in entirely too realistic stone. And she couldn't help but feel like they were still listening, like they were stuck, still conscious, in a body that won't move. But she shook her head, she's being ridiculous, Piper's power didn't do that; she knew it didn't. But…still, they were her parents. "Uh," She began uncomfortably, "Can we talk somewhere else?"

Piper raised an eyebrow but conceded, waving her, Paige and Phoebe into the kitchen. "I'll stay here and look after our guests." she said when questioned.

It was somehow better in the kitchen, more secluded, away from the disaster at the table. Billie felt that she could breathe here. She turned to the two Charmed Ones and insisted "It can't be me. What kind of power could I be getting that _turns parents into medieval nobles_!"

Phoebe looked thoughtful and then replied gently "Well, we know that you've been going through a lot of stress lately so that could be a reason for your powers to be reacting so violently especially since you've developed a new one…look, I'm going to be blunt, I've heard of a power called Projection and I think you have it."

Billie sighed, she knew that Phoebe was right and she felt guilty for not telling them about what had happened earlier on today. But, really, she hadn't had time, what with the dinner and everything. And there was the fact that it had completely freaked her out. Maybe she shouldn't have denied using magic on her parents, which she knew she had, but it had just seemed so _weird_…and _not _possible. "Let me guess, it lets the witch impose her will on something else without a spell or potion."

"Looks like someone knows more than she's letting on." Paige stated, her voice good natured but sure.

"Look, I know I should have told you guys," Billie began. "But…earlier on when I was coming back from taking a walk I was attacked by some demons."

"What?" Phoebe looked alarmed. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Billie assured her, feeling strangely glad for her concern. "It's just something weird happened, with the demons I mean. One of them threw a fireball at me and I got really angry and I said 'ash' and the demon just-"

"Turned to ash?" Paige said dryly. She looked surprised though. Billie felt slightly uncomfortable as both the sisters expressions turned thoughtful, as if they were trying to figure something out. Trying to figure _her _out. As she often did, the witch felt like an outsider to the girls easy relationship, the bond of sisterhood, and she felt a pang of longing for her own sister.

"There's nothing else it could be. You definitely have the power of Projection." Paige said finally, tone cheerful.

Billie felt anything but pleased. She voiced her emotions, her tone desperate. "I don't want a new power…it took me long enough to figure out the ones I already have. Why can't it go away? I can't deal with another power. I turned my parents into _medieval nobles_…I can't deal with that every day. What if I get angry and almost kill someone?"

"Sweetie, you don't have a choice." Phoebe said soothingly. "The power is yours, always has been, just now your ready to develop it. Use it. It will take a while, and it will come with a few mistakes, but it will get better. We've all had our fair share of magical mishaps, we've all been cursed or whatever before, so we'll help you through it. Paige cast a few spells after she became a witch and, well, that didn't turn out so well-"

Towards the end of her explanation, her words took on a slightly mocking lilt and Paige interrupted her. "Well, excuse me, but didn't you once levitate too high in the air and have to have someone help you down? Oh, and there _was _the time that you turned yourself into a Genie because you didn't read the fine print on the bottle!"

Billie laughed as Phoebe glared at her sister. "The words were in Arabic! And at least I didn't almost turn into a vampire!"

"You _did _turn into a mermaid though." Paige shot back.

"Valkyrie." Phoebe stated. Her lips twisting into a smile at Paige's expression. Billie found herself smiling with them, even if she had no idea which event in their lives they were discussing.

"Oh, like that was just me." Paige replied sarcastically.

"_So_?" Phoebe retorted calmly, seeming to be a peace with whatever had happened to make them turn into Valkyries…though the witch had no idea that that was even possible. Billie thought Valkyries were myths. The woman then smiled mischievously. "But we're missing out Piper."

"How rude of us." Paige added, a smile curving it's way across her face, brown eyes bright and dancing. "We can't forget our older sister."

"Yeah, she's turned into a Wendigo, a Fury-" Phoebe began, smiling happily, seeming to enjoy making fun of her sister behind her back.

"-A ghost (but haven't we all?), a Hindu Goddess, little red riding hood and I think she has also been an Angel of Death." Paige looked thoughtful, as if she wasn't sure that she had got all of the various transformations right. Billie laughed again, finding her fear melting away in the face of the sisters optimism. They knew what they were doing, and she liked their tendency to laugh about the various things they had done. It made her feel better. Paige and Phoebe shared a satisfied smile as they listened to the young witch laugh.

"I guess I don't have anything to worry about then." Billie joked, looking at the sisters as if they were going to prove her wrong.

"Nope. Nothing at all." Paige agreed, eyes dancing playfully, as she added, almost as if she could resist. "You can't be as bad as Phoebe."

"Why? What did she do?" Billie asked, genuinely curious as Phoebe groaned in what sounded like exasperation and embarrassment.

"Oh, nothing much," Paige replied flippantly. "She only married the Source and became the Queen of the Underworld. Y'know, the usual. Now lets go back and deal with your parents before Piper gets bored and blows them up."

At Billie's alarmed expression she added hastily. "Not, that she would, I was only joking-"

But Billie wasn't listening, she knew Paige was joking about Piper blowing up her parents, she was already turning to Phoebe and saying "You were married to the _Source_? How did that happen? You don't just meet the leader of the Underworld in a café." but then she frowned, suddenly thoughtful. "Or do you?"

"No. It was nothing like-" Phoebe began.

"She met him as a demon and then married the guy. And then found out he was the Source. And then killed him." Paige finished.

"You killed him!" Billie repeated, horrified.

"_Paige_!"

"What? He came _back_." Paige replied.

Phoebe rolled her eyes, a hint of sadness in them, dimmed by time, but still there. She seemed able to look back fondly at whatever memories this invoked. Evidently not the killing the guy part, but obviously she had loved him very much. The woman shook her head with a small smile and then said firmly. "Now, really, we should be getting back, we have a problem to solve that won't fix itself."

With that she walked out of the kitchen, Paige closely behind, and Billie trailing after them. The witch had wanted to continue talking to them, hearing of their experiences with magic, but she knew they were right. It would be unforgivable for her to just _leave _her parents the way they were because she wanted to chat. The very idea was impossible to conceive. But…still, it had been nice. A chance to laugh and learn and not to make mistakes. Reality seemed cold and harsh compared to the playful bantering between the two sisters and Billie couldn't help but feel terribly new to magic. Like she didn't really understand what was going on.

But she would try.

She saw Piper sitting at the table, her eyes on the couple across her, hand supporting her head. The witch looked slightly anxious, like she wanted to get the couple back to normal as much as Billie did. Said couple were still in the same position, and Billie couldn't help but wince at the thought of standing still for so long. A new addition had been made to the room, a light grey horse stood fidgeting in the hall, fitted with saddle and full tack, a small bag attached to the saddle of the horse on the right side. The horse was tall, with powerful looking legs and a graceful neck. Large eyes examined the room with mild interest as the horse snorted in what sounded like boredom. Piper had evidently grabbed the reigns as they were tied loosely around the back of a chair.

"I'm guessing that's Merlin?" Billie stated.

"Yep." Piper replied. "Now, what are we going to do about your parents? And the horse?"

"Well, we could try a spell. That would probably be able to reverse the transformation." Phoebe explained, but her tone was thoughtful and her eyes looked like she had a completely different plan in mind.

"But?" Paige had obviously picked up on it too, her eyes narrowing as she motioned for her older sister to tell her what she had in mind.

"But," the middle sister repeated. "Billie needs to learn how to control her new power sometime. Now is the perfect opportunity for her to learn how to do that."

"What!" Billie exclaimed, fear at her new power flooding her mind. "I can't. I know nothing about my new power…what if I hurt them? Or worse…make the change irreversible? Why can't I practise on something else. Like a plant. Something I can't cause serious damage with."

"No." Piper replied calmly. "Phoebe is right; I think it's a good idea. We should let you try first and if you can't do it, then that's fine, we will take over and turn them back. What is your new power anyway?"

"Projection." Billie replied dejectedly.

"Don't sound too happy about it." Piper said dryly, before her eyes softened and she added gently. "It sounds like a powerful gift. Don't resent it…bad things happen when our emotions are out of wack."

"Ok." Billie agreed, sighing heavily. She knew what Piper meant but…how was she supposed to accept her power. How did someone change fear into something else? How did it happen? How was she supposed to change how she felt? "Ok."

Piper's eyes searched her face. "Do you want to try now?"

Billie nodded and Paige cut in helpfully "Try and think of what had happened when you first used it. How did you feel? When I was first learning to orb, finding the trigger was hard, try and think through what happened. But change the result."

Billie looked slightly dubious but nodded after Phoebe smiled at her encouragingly, her eyes focusing on her parents. They looked so weird in their medieval clothes. So different and distant and _not _her parents. But…emotions. Right. The dinner…she had been upset because her parents had been having fun, laughing and joking with each other. Getting along with the Charmed Ones. But she didn't understand. Why had she been so angry? She felt so stupid; there had been nothing to get angry about…the dinner had been going as she had wanted it to. Her parents were relaxed and weren't rude or anything so-

"You angry yet?" came Paige's voice in a blunt stage whisper.

"Shh!" Billie shot back.

Why had she been angry? She had been stabbing her food, moving it around and her thoughts were on the dinner. But then they weren't because her parents were happy and laughing and joking. And they were pretending everything was fine and that they had everything they wanted when they didn't because there was no Christy because she was lost and _they never talked about her_.

The fury pounded through her ears again, sang through her heart, beat in her blood. Her parents abruptly unfroze, eyes wide in shock as they saw the occupants of the room in different positions than they had been, for them, a mere second before. The horse suddenly reared, front legs kicking through the air, neighing, and the loosely tied reins came away. The grey horse shook its head, snorting, trotting on the spot, eyes flicking quickly around the room as if it was unsure what to do next. Lord Carl quickly made a decision. Leaping over to the horse, gently dragging his wife behind them he yelled.

"Come! Let us make our escape while we can, my lady. This house seems to be cursed…Merlin never rears. 'Tis a sign."

The lady nodded in agreement, the smallest hint of fear peering out of her dark brown eyes as she followed her husband. The knight swung up onto the horse and pulled the lady up in front of him and then rode to the doors of the manor. Piper hands were in the air to freeze a second after she recovered from her shock, but it was a second too late and Merlin had already kicked open the doors and was galloping away down the street. Billie felt her anger fade away, lessen, to horror and she bit her lip, feeling like a failure.

"We should have gone after them." Piper said after a moment.

"And what? Had you freeze them in the street?" Phoebe replied bluntly, then softening her tone . "We'll go after them. But in a way that doesn't risk exposure or any other unpleasant consequences."

"I'm sorry I couldn't do it." Billie replied quietly.

"Don't beat yourself up." Paige said firmly, then, with a hint of a smile. "You'll never be as bad as Phoebe remember?"

Billie sighed, and then allowed herself to smile back, some of her insecurities fading. Phoebe rolled her eyes but didn't seem to mind being used as the 'worst you can go' and Piper just raised an eyebrow, looking slightly confused before saying finally. "I don't even want to know. So I'm just going to change the subject. Billie, your going to scry for your parents on you computer with Phoebe while me and Paige go get some potions."

"Honey, isn't vanquishing them for running out on our dinner a little harsh?" Paige quipped, cringing slightly as Piper gave her a withering glare.

"I'm not going to vanquish them. Just get something to knock them out so we don't have to keep them here frozen if they are being uncooperative." Piper replied.

* * *

The grey horse galloped down the street.

After leaving the manor, and startling some pedestrians that had been strolling down the street, Merlin had continued following the maze of roads in a random order picked by Lord Carl. He frowned at the strange tall buildings he saw everywhere, the strange creatures on the roads, and wondered where he was. This did not look like anywhere he had ever been before. Lady Helene, for her part, was wondering the same thing. No one seemed to even pay them any notice, except from a few curious stares, and the woman felt incredibly out of place. Which she wasn't used to feeling. At all.

The horse suddenly perked up, and turned down a side alley, trotting enthusiastically onwards. Lord Carl let him, maybe Merlin would know the way out of this curious citadel. The walls on either side of the alleyway went straight upwards, as sheer as any cliff, but the knight did not feel afraid. He had his sword by his side. Merlin stopped suddenly, and dipped his grey head to the ground, a fresh apple laying there. The knight smiled fondly, Merlin loved his apples.

"Hello there." a voice said.

A woman came out of the shadows, she had short hair and a middle aged face, eyes dark with age. She smiled, though it looked like she had never really done so, and he felt an urge to talk to this lady. After all, knights did have to protect the helpless. And maybe she could help him get home. "Good day, my lady."

The woman smiled wider. Then the smile dimmed, turned wistful. "It has been a while since anyone has called me that, knight."

"Why is that, my lady?" the knight asked, putting extra emphasis on the last part in an endeavour to make her feel better.

She smiled back at him, noticing his gesture of goodwill. But then her smile faded and she replied "Because of my sons cousin. We are the rightful rulers of this city, San Francisco, but that traitorous man somehow forged his fathers will…and took control. My son should be in charge but their making him do all the administration and looking after the subjects. And that wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for what I overheard today…their going to kill him. Tonight. He's my only son and their going to _kill _him."

"You can not let this happen, my lord." Lady Helene replied calmly, but firmly, and the knight knew in that second that it was settled. Even if he had not been a knight he would not be able to refuse his wives cool and collected tone. Her eyes shone with love as she looked at him; knowing he could make a difference.

"Have no fear, my lady," he began confidently. "We shall stop this fiend. Your son will not be the one to die tonight. Where is this traitor currently?"

The woman frowned for a moment, before she pulled a piece of paper (covered in a picture he could not see) out of her pocket and as well as a strange looking device, seeming to use it to draw a line on the paper. She then handed it to the knight and he was shocked as he saw it was an impeccably detailed map. Eyes wide with amazement, he saw she had drawn on his route on from a space marked 'here' to a space marked 'there'. He blinked. "Extraordinary…"

"Yes. Times are changing." she replied. "Now, when you get there, tell the security you are there to see Rod Dalvos and that you have an appointment. They will let you straight in. Take your wife with you, I'll meet you at Rod's and take her somewhere save so that she's not in any danger. We have to go separately to reduce suspicion. If I'm seen with you things could go badly."

The knight was still reluctant to take Helene anywhere near a possible battle but when she turned to him and looked at him expectantly he agreed. "We'll meet you there.

She smiled in what he took to be a relieved tone. Nodding respectfully, the knight turned Merlin around and trotted back out of the alley. As soon as he had turned the corner the woman smirked coldly, eyes turning from warm to guarded and dark in a second. "Ah," she muttered with amusement. "Knights are so gullible."

"So that's you master plan?" another voice, male this time, cut in. "To get two random crazy people to kill some equally random guy?"

The woman appeared annoyed. "No. Those were the, " she smiled mockingly "lie detectors parents. I was watching the manor when something really…unexpected happened. Somehow she turned them into medieval nobles. I just decided to use it to my advantage. My plans have changed."

"Oh? What are you going to do now?"

"_You _are going to follow them. When they arrive at their destination I want you to watch out for the Charmed Ones and the girl. When they arrive, you will come and tell me…alright?" the demon hissed sharply.

"How is that going to help you kill her?" the voice answered from the shadows, seemingly content to stay hidden.

"You'll see. Killing is not the purpose of this part of the plan…this is just for _fun_. Her parents are still recognisable and soon they will be in prison for murder." the demon laughed. "And then it'll just be poor little Billie all on her own."

"But there's another reason you want this man dead." the man stated confidently.

"Yes, he is in the way of one of my…children." Her lips twitched at the word and she spoke it in a completely impersonal way. It was clear this 'child' meant absolutely nothing to her. "Removing the current leader of the company will ensure he takes control. And when he does, it will be one more part of the mortal world that belongs to demons."

"Fascinating." came the sarcastic reply.

"And you better play your part." the demon threatened, eyes glowing with the promise of violence and death. "Or else you will die today as well."

"I know."

* * *

"I've found them." Billie said finally, after a few minutes of scrying.

She had started to think that she wouldn't be able to find them but, there they were. Frowning, she realised that she knew the place her parents had gone to, and the coincidence set her on edge. Phoebe turned from her place by the book and walked over and, upon seeing the witches expression asked "Where are they? And why do you look so confused?"

"I went to see a kidnap victim this morning and he was the corporate executive of this place. And now my parents are there. It just seems a little weird." Billie replied.

"Why? What are you thinking?" Phoebe tilted her head considering what could be going on.

"I don't know what I'm thinking yet. But this can't be an accident that they are at the exact place I was earlier on today. And why would they even go there in the first place? What would medieval nobles want with a random building? How would they tell it from the rest? Why would they go in that specific one?" Billie explained, the questions flowing with no answers.

"I don't know. But I think your right. Come on. We'll go as soon as possible. The sooner this is solved the better." Phoebe agreed, her tone calm and reassuring, laced with the experience that comes with doing this every day for years.

Billie nodded and followed her out of the attic after writing down the address of the company on a piece of spare paper she had found on the table. They walked swiftly down the stairs and then into the kitchen of the manor, seeing Paige and Piper with several small bottles filled with potions. Billie smiled, it had not taken the two sisters long at all to mix the potions they wanted and the witch looked forward to the day that she would be as good. The sisters seemed to sense the haste for they immediately asked for the address.

"Right here." Billie said, passing them the slip of paper on which she had written the address. Paige looked at it and then motioned for other woman to hold onto her. Once they did she orbed, making them all disappear in a flurry of bright, blue lights.

They reappeared in an alley near the company.

Billie wondered why the woman had picked an alley of all the places but she had no time to complain as the Charmed Ones started for the building where her parents were currently wandering around in. As she approached the large skyscraper of a building, with its cool grey exterior and gleaming windows, she wondered how they were ever going to find exactly where her parents were. But the sisters didn't look worried so she felt confident that they, at least, knew what they were doing even if she didn't. Walking through the glass doors to the first floor of the company, Billie was not surprised by what she saw as she had been to the place earlier that day. The interior was large and clean, giving a crisp and professional look, a large desk designed to direct visitors and take calls was the most prominent feature of the room.

Piper walked confidently up to the mahogany desk and asked the woman politely. "Have you seen a man dressed as a knight come through here?"

The blond woman nodded, pausing in her typing to give Piper a welcoming smile. "Yes, why do you ask?"

"He's my friends," here she motioned to Billie. "dad and is in the city on business and we just want to make sure that he remembered the dinner we're having tomorrow. He's awfully forgetful. I take it his wife is with him?"

"The woman? Yes, she is with him, they are both meeting with Mr Dalvos right now so if you'd like to take a seat…" the receptionist motioned to some chairs spread around with a practised smile, obviously used to dealing with customers.

Piper shock her head. "That's alright. We'll just wait outside his office. What floor is it?"

"Sixth. Just walk down the corridor and the room will have his name on it. I would advise you to take the lift." the woman said smiling, before going back to her typing and answering a phone call on her headset.

Piper moved quickly over to the lift, her sisters and Billie following her, unfazed by the lie. Billie admired how smooth it was though and again wondered if it was part of the job…part of being a witch. She pressed the button for the sixth floor and stood back as it lit up. There was a short wait before a quiet ding signalled the opening of the lift doors. The lift was literally packed full of people and Billie quickly realised that one of them wouldn't fit.

"I'll take the stairs." she offered, rolling her eyes and waving them into the lift when they protested. Quickly pushed to the back, the tried to shove their way back out but there were too many people. They said something about demons and that they shouldn't split up but she didn't really pay attention to what they were saying, only nodding absently while making no move to enter the lift. With a silent hiss, the lift doors closed and began its ascent through the building, the Charmed Ones inside.

Billie sighed and made her way over to the door saying 'Stairs'. Pushing the door open, she began to walk quickly up the stairs to the sixth level. About halfway up, she realised that she could have just waited for the lift to come back down, but that could have taken too long. Still, it would have been less tiring. As she reached the fourth floor, a loud crash distracted her from walking up the remaining staircases. The witch heard a yell and then another crash. Sprinting the last few stairs, she came to a door that said boldly, 'fourth floor', and opened it, walking through into a long corridor.

Looking around, she saw nothing that even remotely suggested anything had happened…but she had definitely heard something. Billie frowned, looking left to right, trying to decide which way to go. It, seemed however, that she needn't have worried, for loud boom sounded this time, like a explosion, and voices soon followed. Coming from a door just to her left, they got louder and more discernable the closer she got to them.

"-told you to warn me when the Charmed Ones got here!"

The voice was female and sounded incredibly angry, sinister even. Another voice, familiar this time, answered back in a tone that was indignant.

"How was _I _supposed to know? You asked me to follow the knight…I did that. How was I supposed to be watching the entrance downstairs when I was here…_four floors up_. Just because you didn't think your plan through doesn't mean you have to take it out on me." the voice of the motorcyclist replied mockingly. Billie narrowed her eyes from her position on the other side of the door, they were talking about her parents. She now recognised what the crashes and the booming sounds were…two demons having a disagreement.

"And what, exactly, are you going to do to stop me?" the voice hissed.

"Nanta." the other voice replied confidently. "Your wasting time. You know if you try and kill me I will probably fight back, and then the Charmed Ones will have found the knight and foiled your little plan and will then be coming after you."

There was silence as the woman was evidently glaring at the man for pointing this out.

"Besides. You can always kill me later."

"True." there was a hint of humour in Nanta's voice. "But first your going to find the girl, she isn't with the sisters, and keep her busy until the target is dead."

"Ok."

Billie smiled as she listened out for the tell tale hum of a demon shimmering away. If only Nanta had known that she had been listening at the door, but she didn't, so if she could get the drop on the other demon he might be able to tell her what there plan was. And if things got too messy and she had to vanquish him, the witch shrugged, it wouldn't be a great loss. It was a few seconds before the demon shimmered away, and the second that happened Billie pushed open the door to the room and lashed out with a burst of telekinesis. The motorcyclist was standing in the middle of the room and her blast hit him head on, only it didn't work as well as she expected. Instead of flying backwards, he only skidded a good few feet.

"Telekinesis," he said cheerfully, as if the conversation with his demon friend hadn't happened, tilting his still helmeted head. "the best power of the bunch."

Billie just looked at him unimpressed, seriously, who wears a helmet indoors? This would also be the first time a demon had tried to compliment her to get catch her of guard. So, to prove her point, she flicked her hand at him again and sent him skidding backwards, a few more feet this time. "The very best." she added.

The motorcyclist looked at her in what she guessed to be dawning comprehension, probably realising that she had been listening at the door for the past few minutes, and then he said seriously. "Whatever you heard, it's not what it sounds like."

"Oh like that's going to work." Billie replied levelly. "You demons are always so stupid. Now, tell me what's going on with my parents and I might kill you painlessly."

"_Demon_?" the man asked, confused. Well, he _sounded _confused but he could be faking. "Err, no, I don't know how you came to _that _conclusion but I'm not a demon."

"Sure." Billie replied scathingly. "And I'm the King of England's long lost daughter who was kidnapped when she was two and brought to America to be trained in the art of cake baking."

The man just looked at her. "Really?"

He sounded so serious, like he actually believed her, that Billie wanted to throttle him. "No, I was just- never mind. Tell me what the hell is going on here."

"Y'know, I would…I really would. But I'm afraid your going to try and kill me after so-" the man began, then at Billie's glare, he seemed to change his mind and explained. "Nanta didn't like you interfering in her little operation here, so she had her demons attempt to kill you. I was just an innocent bystander, an innocent _witch _bystander.…but Nanta didn't like me killing her demons. So she made my bike explode. I wasn't on it at the time thankfully. Still, I wasn't exactly in the condition to be fighting off a demon so she offered me a deal in exchange for my life."

"What kind of deal?" Billie asked.

"I help her with whatever plan she has and she doesn't kill me." the man shrugged.

"Even if she didn't, the second the Charmed Ones found out what you'd done, they'd come after you." Billie replied.

"That's what I said. But it was either immediate death or possible death in the future so…" he paused. "I chose possible death in the future."

With that, the motorcyclist walked around her and over to the door, turning back to her and saying "Aren't you coming? You have parents to save don't you?"

Billie looked at him suspiciously before concluding that he was hiding something. He didn't seem to be concerned about anything, so he was either an incredibly good actor or incredibly confident. The man didn't even seem to mind that he had spilled his 'employers' plan to one of the people the demon was going to kill. And then there was the part about his helmet…

"Don't you ever take that off?" Billie asked, annoyed, as she walked over to him, signalling that she was coming too.

She got the feeling that, behind the helmet, the man was smiling…or smirking. But he only opened the door and walked out saying quickly.

"Yes. But I'm afraid my face would have _completely _blown my cover."

Billie found herself smiling at his annoyed sounding tone and she stated, her tone slightly amused. "So, your well known in the Underworld."

"Unfortunately."

* * *

Rod's office door was open.

Walking in, the Charmed Ones saw the dark haired man sitting at his desk reading through some large looking documents. Frowning, the sisters didn't see Carl or Helene…had they already been here? Or maybe they hadn't got here yet; which was stupid since they had had plenty of time to get into the building before the Charmed Ones got here. They could have left already…but where would they go? Seeming to sense them coming in, Rod looked up, eyes widening in surprise, before they became blank again. Giving them a polite, but strangely guarded smile, he said "Can I help you?"

"Yes." Piper replied. "Has a man dressed up as a knight come and seen you?"

Rod looked surprised at the question but nodded.

"Well do you know where he went? Or where he said he was going?" Phoebe asked hurriedly, secretly wondering where Billie had got to. It could not have taken her that long to walk up the stairs.

"Yes, he mentioned going to see my cousin, Paul. It was rather strange really. Kept on going on about doing a favour for a lady and punishing the criminal. I assumed that he was just acting and sent him to Paul's office." Rod explained, seemingly unconcerned, looking back to the papers on his desk. Signing something.

"And you didn't think that that was strange?" Paige asked.

"Not at all. Paul has had some pretty strange guests in the past. A knight seemed fine." the man replied with a careless shrug. He then frowned "You don't think that knight is dangerous did you?"

"No." Piper replied quickly before moving on, feeling distrustful of this man but having no idea why. "Did he have a women with him? Long red dress, pearls, dark eyes?"

The man nodded again, eyes thoughtful. "Yes, he did, though he said he wasn't going to take her to Paul's office. Something about the violence? I thought he was joking-"

Phoebe could not help her wince and Rod seemed to notice it. "He was joking right?"

Paige gave her sister a warning glare while Piper replied calmly "Yeah. He was joking. But we need to find him. And his wife. It's important. Their my friends family and they are very forgetful. And dinners tomorrow and I want to remind them before they run off again."

Rod nodded in what looked like understanding but he looked completely unconcerned. Strange. However he then gave them the rooms they needed. "The lady is on this floor, the room just down the hall marked fourteen, and the knight is on the fourth floor, and the office has Paul's name on it, you can't miss it."

"Ok, thanks for your time." Paige said, as the sisters turned to leave. However, she turned back as she thought about Billie, who still hadn't arrived, and she asked "If another woman comes in looking for us, can you tell her where we have gone?"

"Sure." Rod replied with a smile. Watching them leave, expression not leaving his face until they had left the room, closing the door behind them. Then his eyes darkened and his smile turned into a frown. "Nanta is not going to like this."

A dark chuckle from behind him. "No, I am not."

* * *

It didn't take them long to reach her dad.

He wasn't on the sixth floor, instead on the third, about to kill some guy, who she had found out was called Paul, from the company who the motorcyclist had told her that Nanta wanted dead. The office they were in was large, and expensively decorated, with towering glass windows behind a smooth wooden desk. Her dad was in there, and it seemed he'd just finished challenging the man to a sword fight, and his own weapon was halfway out of his sheath. The other man had backed away, looking terrified, obviously he could take on other business people without fear but not a medieval knight. Billie did not want her father to become a murderer so she shouted "Stop!"

It did the trick, as both the knight and the Paul turned to look at her, her father surprised and the other so stunned he seemed unable to speak. Billie glared at her dad and asked "What the _hell _are you doing?"

He frowned and replied "My duty as a knight, my lady, this man is conspiring to murder someone and has already taken his fortune. To let such a vile act go unpunished would be a grave slight to the victim."

"Oh, and how do you know this? Who told you that you had the right to kill this man?" Billie shot back. There was no way she was letting her dad kill anyone, no matter who they were. No way at all.

"A lady, the rightful lady of this household, and this right is given to me by my title." her father replied calmly, with a hint of stubborn pride.

"I haven't done anything-" Paul began but a look from Billie and the knight had him falling silent once more.

"Not in San Francisco." Billie informed him, thinking quickly of a way to get him to back down. "In this city knights do not have the authority to kill a man on sight for some perceived wrongdoing. You must go through the proper authorities. And he must be put on trial and then the decision about what to do with him will be made."

The knight looked at her dubiously, then, looking at the man beside her who had said nothing since they had entered the room asked "And you think…"

"What she said." the motorcyclist answered.

Billie saw her dad think it over, and when a stubborn glint entered his brown eyes she knew that he wasn't going to back down. She was proven right when he said "He probably owns the courts in this city, a fair verdict is not guaranteed, how can you prove that he will get a fair trial?"

"How can you prove that your source is telling the truth?" Billie replied just as stubbornly.

"Actually," the motorcyclist interrupted casually. "I can help with that. I was there when Nanta, the lady, spoke to you. She wanted to manipulate you into killing that man, Paul, over there so that she could get you arrested for murder. So, really, it was all a lie and that man is innocent."

Just as the knight looked about to argue against what the man had just said Nanta herself shimmered into the room. She looked surprised at seeing Rod's cousin _still _alive, and Billie there and _not _distracted and the motorcyclist there _helping _her enemy. Anger quickly clouded her features and a rush of cold melted into her eyes. She glared at both the witches in the room and then addressed her 'accomplice' in a cold, deadly calm tone. "I thought I told you to distract the witch."

"Sorry. Had a change of heart." the man replied and as he saw Nanta's icy glare he added. "Shall we take this outside?"

"Sure. It'll be over quickly anyway." Nanta replied with a feral smile.

"I'm sure it will." the man replied mysteriously, a smile in his voice.

Billie and the knight looked after them as they exited the room without so much as a backwards glance. Then, as the knight went back to trying to kill the man in the room, Billie knew that she couldn't afford to worry about the other witch. Steeling herself against what she was about to do, Billie made a sharp motion with her fingers and her fathers sword went spinning out of his hands. It clattered to the floor a few metres away and the knight looked to Billie's face in shook. Another motion when he tried to get it and he was sent flying backwards, landing heavily on the floor. Voice steady she told him.

"Don't even try it."

* * *

The door closed behind Nanta with a soft click.

"You shouldn't have crossed me." she told her unwilling accomplice evenly, waiting awhile before she killed him, it was always nice to drag out deaths. Made it more exciting. "I was going to let you live."

"No you weren't" the man replied.

"No." she conceded smiling, showing off perfectly white teeth. "I wasn't"

"I know who you work for." the man began calmly, coldly even. "And I know that they need Rod for something. Friends in high places you said? That told me more that you thought. The fact that your plans changed was also very informative…nice touch there. You were going to kill Billie, but then your plans involved letting her live, why is that? What do the Triad want with the Charmed Ones ward? And why did you, their servant, only know about it when you threatened her?"

Nanta only smirked, hiding her surprise easily, but she could not hide her anger. Rod had been an idiot. Seriously? Telling the Charmed Ones where to go? _Come on_. "So, you know more that you appear to. What makes you think I'll tell you anything?"

"Actions speak louder than words, demon." the man answered. "You've already told me everything I needed to know. You don't know anything about the Triads plan. And Rod is part of your own ambition…completely separate from Billie's sister. But the Triad want Billie's parents out of the way for some reason, so you incorporated that into what you wanted. I think I've just done a _very _nice piece of undercover work there."

"Oh?" Nanta replied, her smirk deepening, tone hostile, he was taunting her. Showing her that he really didn't need her to answer any of his questions. She wanted him dead. Now. "You think your going to live through this day? Come one. Seriously? I'm a demon…someone you don't want to up against lightly."

"I didn't know you cared." the man replied sarcastically. "But your concern isn't needed. I think I'll be able to vanquish you just fine. Don't forget…I did kill three of your demons."

Nanta laughed. "You think that's going to scare _me_? Please. You killed some of my demons…well done. But I am not one of my demons. Their basically powerless." her eyes glittered menacingly. "And I am not."

"Well goody for you."

A fireball was his answer, and unlike the last time she had been angry at him, this was aimed to actually hit him. But it didn't. As soon as the crimson ball of spinning flame left her hand, the motorcyclist had raised his and the projectile was sent spinning back. She dodged, at least now she knew what his power was, and sent three more fireballs at him in quick succession, trying to overwhelm him with fire power. The witch wrenched them out of their trajectory with his powers and flung them back at her. She shimmered out before they hit her, shimmering in once they were passed where she was. Her opponent seemed to have been ready for this and lashed out with his power, sending her flying into the wall behind her. Before she had time to recover, a potion had already exploded at her feet, and then she was exploding too. Screaming in fury and pain, she disintegrated into a pile of ashes on the floor.

The man sighed, and then mused aloud. "Oh the joys of appearing powerless."

The corridor was silent and there was no one to answer him or even acknowledge he had spoken. The pile of ashes on the floor was still smoking when he reached up and pulled of his red helmet. Almost laughing at how the demon had been too arrogant to demand that he take it off…to cure of herself to care who he was. Running a hand through his brown hair, the man appeared to think on what to do, whether to go back and help Billie, or get out before he was seen. He was sure the witch could handle herself anyway…and she did need to learn to control her Projection power. Still, he couldn't just _leave_, he might be able to help. New powers were tricky things. However, as he turned back to the door, he heard the lift doors ding and then slide cleanly open.

Turning round quickly, he saw a familiar woman stepping out of the lift. He froze as she spotted him, brown eyes meeting green and then saw her expression change from disbelief to shock.

"_Chris_?"

He ran for the staircase door, opening it and running upwards as he orbed, hoping she hadn't seen the cyan lights, but she had seen him. She had _seen _him.

And Piper was left wondering why he had ran.

* * *

Hmm, why _did _he run? And what the heck is he doing nosing about in San Francisco anyway? Why is the horse called Merlin? Is Phoebe really the 'worst you can go'? O.o Will Billie's parents ever get turned back to normal? Will Rod avenge his 'mother'? These questions will probably all be answered in my story. Or the next one hehehe. But…yeah. I've changed some more stuff in season 8, or I _will _change some more stuff. And I was trying to show Billie's whole newness to magic bit and how she misses her own sister and is kinda jealous of the Charmed Ones bond. I also wanted to show that the sisters are awesome and know what they are doing (it has been eight years) and that is partly the reason why I wanted to have some stuff in Billie's point of view. To juxtapose the whole new witch to experienced with y'know.

Anyhow, now Chris is in the story so there will be a lot of his POV. And next time I'll be introducing some interesting storylines. Like what he had been doing these past two years, what the Guild is up to, and that Billie's parents know more than they are letting on…and a lot more than they did in the show lol. So, yeah, read and review. And ask questions if I've just confused the hell out of you.

Oh, and sorry this was late (and for the massively long AN) but I was up late watching Star Trek (the 2009 film) and then I went to bed and thought "Damn, I haven't uploaded my chapter." So I had to do it today instead.


	5. Thieves Are Like Boomerangs

Chapter 4- Thieves Are Like Boomerangs

* * *

Piper stood still for about a second before she ran after him.

Throwing the door open, she sprinted out of it, expecting to see the soft blue light of his orbs or at least hear footsteps. But she heard nothing, and was left feeling incredibly confused and insulted. Oh, so the first thing a person does when they see their own mother is to _run_? That wasn't right. She had excepted he was her son a long time ago, and now he was just walking, well running, away? Anger burned through her veins, stinging strongly of pain, as she got through her shock. He had been alive all this time and he hadn't even come and said hello? Hadn't even let them know that he was fine and not dead? How could he be so selfish?

She looked up the stairs to the upper floors and then down to the lower ones, trying to decide which way he had gone…but he had probably orbed away by now.

So she stepped back into the corridor, closing the door behind her, and looked for the door leading to the room that Rod had told them the knight had gone too. She spotted the smoking ashes laying on the floor in the corridor and saw the scorch marks on the walls…so Chris had been here for a reason. Maybe if she found out what that reason was she'd be able to find him. Seeing the door she was looking for she opened it, and even though she was unaware exactly what she had expected to find, she knew that a trashed room with two men on the floor and an angry looking Billie was not it.

Freezing both of them, Piper turned to Billie with an eyebrow raised, concealing the pain she felt easily. "What's going on here?"

"My dad is trying to kill that guy," Billie replied, pointing to the person in question. "And I was trying to stop him but he wasn't listening to me and then this demon shimmered in. But there was this other witch who had been helping the demon but then betrayed her. They went outside- you seen them?"

Piper sighed, so Chris had been double crossing demons again. But why? "No, just a pile of ashes on the floor. Why was your dad trying to kill someone?"

"Long story;" Billie replied, sounding tired.

"Well, you can tell me later then, huh?" Piper said with a small smile, hoping Billie wouldn't see how far away from the conversation her mind really was. "Now, do you think you can turn your dad back to normal?"

"I don't know." Billie looked at her father consideringly, biting her lip nervously. "I can try but I think you and your sisters might need to try a spell for it to work… where are Phoebe and Paige anyway?"

"They'll be here in a minute." Piper answered confidently, giving Billie a soft smile. "We were given two rooms and so we split up…they should be along with your mother and then you can put them both back to normal. Easy right?"

Billie did not look convinced.

* * *

"This is a bad idea."

The chamber was filled with light and was almost a blinding white. Figures in gold robes stood in a circle, hoods pulled over their heads. They stood proudly with their backs straight and seemed to give off an aura of cool detachment. The Elder who had spoken, a hooded figure with a angry stance, projected a entirely too human bearing than the rest.

"On the contrary. We must carry out this plan…we all know the consequences if we do not." another voice said, cold but calm.

"And what about the consequences if this does work, which it won't. How much of time will be erased? We may not even be standing here right now! So many lives will be lost. How dare you presume to meddle with fate." the first voice exclaimed, sounding absolutely furious.

"You forget those that will live. We let things slide once. And nothing happened, the world remained unchanged! Not again." the second voice replied, just as calmly.

"You have no idea what your talking about. He hasn't come back…so therefore he is still doing whatever he had planned to do. You can't do this." the first voice insisted.

"But we can. And we have proof. And we _will _do what must be done." the second voice replied, an undertone of threat and danger in his calm voice.

The first figure seemed to have had enough, for he through back the hood of his golden robes and glared at the first man out of furious green eyes. "You will not kill my _son _just because you have a hunch…or that you think he's not doing enough. What are _you _doing? What are we _all _doing? Sitting up here safe in the clouds that's what!"

"Leo." the second man said, he too taking off his golden hood. "We are doing what must be done. We sealed ourselves off from earth so that when the time came, when we had a way to defeat Wyatt, we could come back. Do not let your emotions as a father cloud your judgement, Chris, regrettably, must be sacrificed-"

"No," Leo interrupted, eyes hard. "The Elders have hated him for years. Don't pretend this is about the greater good; this is about revenge."

The second man smiled sadly, lined face showing his age and replied "You can't deny the fact that there is a good chance that Chris turned too."

Leo raised an eyebrow and said sarcastically. "Oh yes, my second son who has helped the resistance for the last three or so years is _obviously _evil. I mean, the fact that he evaded Wyatt and that the headquarters was never found until he _left _is naturally a cunning and sneaky plan to sell everyone out to his evil overlord brother. You might as well accuse me of being evil and be done with it."

The second man scowled. "Sarcasm doesn't become you. And that's not what I was talking about. You know what he did. How many he killed."

"Yes." Leo looked sad, eyes suddenly softening. "I know what he did."

"Can you explain that away? He cast a spell to make everyone forget…why else would he want them to not know? Unless he was planning something that required them to trust him. And then there was the demon, Bianca. She's an _assassin _and they were together…doesn't it seem strange that he stayed with someone he met when he was killing for Wyatt?" the second man reasoned, murmurs of agreement were heard from the other Elders in the room, silently watching the exchange.

"I can't tell you why he did things. But you can't say for sure either. You don't know him…and we've been out of touch with the real world for years. We observe and nothing more. I know my son…and I know that you have got it completely wrong in regards to him." Leo replied coldly, eyes burning.

"You say you know him. Not the way I hear it, old friend. You and Chris were never really close, were you? And don't forget…I knew him too." the second man replied.

"Don't you think I know that _Gideon_?" Leo shot back. "You taught him at Magic School, so what? You always said that he was a good kid. And he _was_. But don't throw that 'you weren't close' crap at me. You know perfectly well why that was…and when it happened."

"All the same. We should continue with the plan. If it turns out I've got it wrong…then no harm shall be done. But if I'm right…" Gideon left the sentence open but Leo knew exactly what he meant.

"Don't worry." he said finally. "You won't be."

* * *

The thief moved silently through the darkness.

The house he was near was large, a mansion really, fitted with the most modern security money could buy. Still, security could only go so far, and even the cameras and alarms that had been put in place would not be enough to keep the thief out.

He crept towards the large building, making sure he stayed silent. There was no sound. Nothing except for the wind whistling through the air, and the swaying of the nearby trees. As the thief walked up the driveway towards the house, he made sure to lessen the crunching sound of the gravel beneath his feet. Seeing the lack of light on in the house, he realised that they were all probably asleep already, and so tonight's theft would not be much of a struggle. Despite his caution, he also knew that he had already successfully disabled the cameras that overlooked the driveway. But he knew that he still had to be careful; Samuel Jackson had a strange habit of lulling criminals into a false sense of security before catching them in the act. After all, many had tried to steal what the thief was going after tonight.

But none had succeeded.

That was why he was there, sponsoring a gang wasn't cheap, and though he was rewarded well for his work, one slip up could mean he lost everything. And he had worked too hard for that. This was more than just a petty gang war. Peoples _lives _were at stake; people he had been _trusted _to save…

But there was no time to dwell.

He had a job to do. And there was no way he would fail. The darkness served as a excellent cover, and there was no one around to see the bright blue glow that suddenly lit up the part of the driveway nearest the house. And even if there had been someone…what would they have thought? They saw no one moving to that location so perhaps it had been a trick of the light. Besides, the cameras had been taken out, so there was no danger of exposure. And, again, if there was, it was easily fixed. So there was no problem really.

The thief reappeared in the house, timing his arrival to be in a cameras blind spot.

Eyes flickered to the cameras in the room, he knew where they were, and the thief muttered a few words. This needed to be quick, he didn't have time for finesse. The cameras all abruptly switched off, the alarm that this was supposed to have triggered mysteriously inactive. The thief grinned, and looked at the painting on the wall, knowing that it had more layers of protection. And he really could not be bothered to bypass them all manually like he usually did…so he cheated.

"Painting."

The painting disappeared in a shower of blue lights and appeared in the thief's hand. He almost dropped it because of its weight but the thief quickly adjusted his grip on what he had come for, settling it under his arm. The cyan lights returned, and the thief was suddenly in the garage, admiring a gleaming red motorbike. A few more muttered words; and the rooms security switched itself off. The thief smiled, and walked over to the bike, before seeming to remember something. He turned and walked over to one of the walls, taking a key off of one of the hooks there. Examining the now empty hook, the thief frowned and then smirked.

"Might as well leave the police a clue. Or not."

Chris had actually enjoyed this job. Running from Piper had been a split second decision, and not a very smart one. But what else could he do? He knew the rules. But he wasn't about to just leave things like this. Stealing the painting had helped him clear his head. And he knew what he had to do. Piper was his mother, and he had left two years ago without saying goodbye, a regret that he could not take back. She deserved more than that; he had been wrong to run away. Flicking his eyes down to the painting he had stolen, he thought of the job ahead of him, in England and in San Francisco.

He would go and see his mother as soon as he finished this job. As soon as the painting was safely at his apartment. He tried to pretend he wasn't worried, nervous about what she'd say, glad that he had been caught, that she had seen him. But he would be lying to himself.

This time there would be no secrets; unlike his last stint in the past. Piper would get the whole truth.

She needed to know about Destiny.

* * *

Phoebe and Paige found Billies' mother quickly.

She was sitting in a room on the second floor; just as Rod had told them, and was staring out of the large open windows of the room. Paige imagined that she was looking around in awe. After all, San Francisco was incredibly different to anything medieval. Lady Helene seemed to hear them enter, for she stood up and turned around, red dress swaying with her movements. Cool brown eyes surveyed them before the woman asked "What business do you have here?"

Thinking fast, Paige answered the woman calmly "We're here to take you to your husband and, erm, apologise for making you think our house is cursed."

Lady Helene raised a eyebrow. "My lord told me that he was going to punish a criminal, why would he want his wife there to witness such violence?"

"Because he's got it wrong. And he's only killing an innocent man. We need your help to stop him." Paige replied, alarmed at the knowledge that Billies' dad was about to kill someone. This could expose magic and that would not be good. She told the lie flawlessly; having no idea whether the man Carl was going to kill was innocent.

At the woman's words, Helene seemed to gain more interest in the conversation, losing some of her detached tones. "You are certain?"

"Yes. I am certain." Paige replied.

"Then there is no time to waste. We must get to him at once." the Lady replied and swiftly walked over to them, the haste in her steps not effecting the grace in her strides.

She let them take the lead, following them to the lift, as she did not know where her husband had gone. Phoebe gave Paige a pleased smile and the witch smirked back, knowing why Phoebe had kept silent throughout the entire conversation with the noblewoman…the witch could not lie to save her life. Pressing the button for level four, she watched as the button lit up and the doors to the lift closed. Helene appeared startled when the lift started to move and Phoebe chose that time to reassure her.

"Don't worry. We are perfectly safe."

"What a strange contraption." Lady Helene said, her words betraying the awe her tone and expression did not.

"Yeah." Paige muttered, ignoring Phoebe's warning glare. "_Real _strange."

The rest of the trip carried on in relative silence, but since there was only two floors to travel, the lift doors opened fairly quickly. Stepping out, Paige looked for the office that Rod had told them belonged to his cousin. Seeing the door, and the ashes next to it, the Charmed One walked over to it and stepped inside, her sister and the Lady following her, to see Piper, Billie and two frozen men.

"We found Helene." Paige stated as Piper turned to her, hearing the door open.

"Good. Billie's going to try and turn them both back." Piper informed both her sisters confidently, before Billie could say otherwise. Turning to Lady Helene, she froze the woman just as she opened her mouth, stopping her from running off, or worse, screaming when she saw her husband was frozen.

"No!" Billie denied. "I can't turn them back. What you told me before didn't work. I have no idea how my power works. I _told _you this but you didn't listen…it's not going to work."

"Gee, I'm really feeling the positively here." Paige said dryly.

Billie only rolled her eyes.

Phoebe gave her sister a look that said 'your not helping' and then gave Billie an encouraging smile, like the one she had given her earlier. "Look, this is your power, it doesn't control you, you control it. So don't fear it, the more you do the harder to use it will be. You can Project because the power is a part of you, remember? You have control."

Billie sighed, she knew this, Piper had told her something similar a few hours ago. And she understood it, she really did, but it didn't mean she felt the same way. She knew she should have control, but she hadn't even wrapped her mind around the fact that she could force her will on anything yet…it just felt too weird. But she knew she couldn't think like that if she wanted to have a chance to master this power. And maybe mastering it would help her find her sister.

Wait. Christy.

Her parents might know something, they had to know something, but right now they were medieval nobles. And they didn't remember having children. They didn't remember _Christy_.

And if they were like this then that meant they couldn't tell her what had happened, couldn't tell her whether anything had been left behind, clues or _something_. They couldn't be there for when she found her and brought her home. Her parents knew nothing about Christy. Billie suddenly felt very alone. No one else understood what she had been like, how painful it had been to lose her, for her to suddenly be gone. And they might know something and she needed to know what had happened so that she could find Christy but they knew nothing right now but they should _remember_.

"_You're my parents."_

Light washed over them and replaced their medieval clothes with their normal ones. Features that before had seemed to be like a mask, a guise, fell away to reveal the real Carl and Helene. The sword in her fathers hand disappeared, as did the necklace around Helenes' neck and the pearls in her hair. Abruptly, they both unfroze, and looked at Billie in shock. Helene recovered first, chocolate eyes wide.

"You're a witch."

The four witches in the room blinked in shock and Billie said hesitantly, unable to keep the betrayal out of her voice (because they had never _told _her). "You knew?"

Carl was the one that answered. "No, we only suspected, Helenes' mother was a witch and we thought it may have been passed down to you and your sister."

"And you never told me?" Billie replied.

"If we were wrong…we didn't want you involved in that." Helene answered.

"We've known for years that this might happen. It seems it took you turning us medieval for us to realise that you had magic." Carl added softly, and Billie suddenly realised that he remembered everything that had happened when he had been a knight and his wife a noblewoman.

"Ok." Billie told them, getting past most of her shock. The Charmed Ones still looked surprised, but they were not saying anything yet, seemingly wanting to let her and her parents have a moment with each other, the witch was grateful that they were letting her deal with this. She knew that now was the time to ask. She knew that now she was going to get the answers she had wanted her parents to give her since Christy disappeared. "But now that my secrets out in the open…why don't we talk about Christy?"

Carl and Helene exchanged glances, expressions closing up, eyes guarded. Her father was the one that answered her. "Billie, we've talked about this-"

"No! We haven't." the witch in question exclaimed in frustration. "Do you know why? Because you refuse to talk about her. You haven't told me anything. All these years that I've been looking and you haven't said a word. And now I find out you knew I could be a witch? Knew that Christy could be one too? I've been trying to find out whether the kidnapping was magical and that would have basically confirmed it!"

"Billie we don't want you involved in this. Your young and we don't want you-"

"Well, I'm sorry mom and dad, but I'm already involved and you can't tell me to leave this alone. She's my sister. I am not going to just walk away." Billie interrupted.

"Hold it!" Piper said firmly, brown eyes hard, showing she had had enough, interrupting the argument before it could go any further. "Do we really want to do this here?"

Billie looked around, seeing the man her dad had been trying to kill still frozen from his position on the floor. She rolled her eyes angrily, but shook her head all the same. Her parents copied her. Piper's brown eyes showed frustration and Billie realised, suddenly, that she looked slightly shaken. But before she could ponder this anymore, the oldest Charmed One was speaking again. "I didn't think so. Now, we're going back to the Manor and then we are all going to sit down and discuss this like normal people. No yelling and no cryptic answers."

"Alright." Carl replied softly, eyes still on his daughter.

Billie nodded as well, but she too didn't take her eyes off her parents.

They had known, all these years, they had known that she had magic. But they hadn't told her. They hadn't even _hinted_. And it could of helped her find Christy, could have helped her find out why she had been taken. But they had kept it a secret. Carried on as normal. Billie watched lost in thought as the Charmed Ones cast a spell on Rod's cousin so that he would not remember what had happened. She could project her will now; do whatever she wanted. And she wanted to find her sister. And if her parents wouldn't tell her what she wanted to know…

Then she'd make them.

* * *

"Valgate."

Teyla spoke the word loudly, without fear, ignoring the looks of apprehension on some of her fellow Guild members faces. It wasn't cowardice; it was a matter of survival. Once you were in Valgate, you _didn't _leave. Well, unless you were Chris, but since that man had disappeared of the face of the earth a few years ago she couldn't blackmail him into helping. The demon scowled at his audacity to be such an inconvenience to her plans. But, she was glad, the Guild weren't scared weaklings…just cautious. That was the reason they had survived so long.

Her lips curved into a smile. Well, that and the fact that she gave every demon who asked about the Guild a one way trip to Valgate prison…courtesy of Todd.

She looked around at the five demons that were seated down the long dark coloured table and repeated herself. "Valgate."

"Are you certain?" one replied, eyes cold and hard.

"Yes, the King is in Valgate. Why else would the Source keep the place as a _prison_?" Teyla replied firmly.

Damien, the leader of the Werewolves, leaned backwards in his chair consideringly. His unusual violet eyes thoughtful, aristocratic features pensive. "If it was so easy for you to realise this, then why hasn't the King been freed already? It's been one thousand years, if the Guild had figured out where he was then why isn't he free?"

"Because the Source killed them all the second they figured that out. Or, since that place is impenetrable, they were all caught getting in. Maybe they could not get into the Kings prison. There must be powerful magic protecting it. There are numerous possible reasons for failure." a female replied, inky black tattoos curving up her pale arm and decorating her delicately boned face.

"You are correct, Rue." Damien replied. "We must proceed cautiously and not do anything until we know exactly what is going on."

Teyla smiled suddenly. "Oh, but we almost do. You know how large our current spy network is…and it is expanding."

"Yes," Todd, the Sources head guard stated, eyes glittering. "We all realise that."

The Guild Leader smiled wider. Mentally recalling the information she knew about each and every one of her inner circle. With her knowledge she could threaten and successfully blackmail literally everyone in the Underworld…and they all knew it. "It will not be long before we can take control. All that needs to be taken care of is the Source. And, Todd, I suppose you already have a plan for that?"

"Already in motion." Todd replied with a smirk. "But the Triad is moving too and it matters not which of us strikes first. We both know that the Source is merely a front for the real power struggle behind the scenes."

Rue looked pensive, tattoos identifying her as a Fury glinting in the dim light. "And you think that we can take Valgate?"

"Todd knows the way in. The Source trusts him. We can take and hold the prison. Things are rapidly falling into place." Teyla replied confidently, but enigmatically.

A amused snort. "Dude, your very cloak and dagger with your cryptic responses."

"Anthrax." Teyla acknowledged with an undercurrent of danger to her tone. "I thought you'd lost your voice."

"Cool your jets oh fearless leader," Anthrax replied, his voice cheerful and without a trace of fear, dark chocolate skin making him almost invisible in the darkness. "I was simply appreciating your daring and ingenious plan."

"Why thank you." Teyla replied softly, blue eyes bright, a smirk, as always, on her face. Anthrax, the youngest member of the Guild, was perhaps the most dangerous. She knew that despite his cheerful exterior, he was one of the most cold blooded demons she knew. That, as well as the fact that she wanted to keep an eye on him, was the reason she had wanted him in her inner circle. And the reason she was still gathering information about him.

"Your welcome." the demon replied, with an almost mocking nod.

"Is there anything else anyone needs to add?" Teyla asked, eyes sweeping along the table she was sitting at. Of course, she already knew everything they had to tell her, but this was a test of loyalty. If any one of these demons tried to keep something from her she'd tear them apart without a second thought. Though, she mused, good help was so hard to find these days.

"My spies have informed me that the Source is going to make a move on more demonic territory. Specifically, Anthrax's and Rue's." Kahhiel explained, not appearing to bothered about what he was telling her, or that he had been silent through the whole conversation.

Anthrax was a different story.

While Rue accepted the news with a aloof, elegant, nod. Anthrax seemed almost delighted, his eyes lighting up with an almost mischievous light. "Oh his _is_, is he? Well, I got news for him, but no high and mighty wimp like him is ever gonna get an _inch _of my territory."

"We know Anthrax." Rue told him with a sigh. "But I am not surprised that the Source decided to make a move on your power first. We all know what happened last week."

"So what?" Anthrax said with a smirk. "I told him that if he wanted me to turn over ownership of my lands to him and act as a 'regent' then I would vanquish him myself. No biggie."

Teyla raised an eyebrow. "And now you have a bounty on your head."

Damien laughed. "Welcome to the club traitor."

Kahhiel also seemed amused. "The rest of us are clever enough to not upset the Source, at least not yet, or so openly. That demon always seems to misinterpret my sarcastic replies. Especially when he's talking about how good a Source he is…"

All the demons at the table shared a grin.

Anthrax then turned to Rue a inquisitive look in his eyes. "What did you do to upset our ruler then?"

The only answer he got was a slight twitch of the Furies lips but nothing more. Teyla, too was smiling, and the two females shared a knowing glance. Then the Guild Leader moved the conversation on, looking around the table expectantly, inviting anyone else to speak, but knowing that, for now, there was no more to add.

"Larrin and Chyia will soon be able to tell us the exact position on the Gates we are looking for. In the meantime, I want you all to continue as you have been. Damien, get the Werewolves ready. Rue, continue recruiting more Furies and what we talked about. Kahhiel, I want you to capture one of the Triads demons and get everything they know out of them…I don't want there to be anything we have missed. Todd, I want that plan to kill the Source perfected and all your firestarters turned. Remember, your getting us into Valgate." Teyla told them all, listing all the things she wanted off to them, eyes darkening with the promise of what would happen if they did not comply.

"Anything else?" Damien asked with a feral smile.

"Oh, yes, we have a new member." she said it like it was nothing…tone offhand and deceptively casual.

"A new member?" Rue raised a delicate eyebrow, looking detached but interested.

"Yes, a new member." Teyla confirmed unnecessarily. She then raised her voice slightly, speaking to mid air…or perhaps not? "Show yourself."

On cue, a form emerged out of the darkness behind her, tall and imposing, Rues' eyebrow rose even more as he began to take shape. The demon walked confidently up to the table, taking the seat next to Teyla and giving the rest of the members of the Guild a acknowledging nod. He seemed to bring some kind of new power to the fold, a reputation that made even the most stoic demons whistle in respect. For their part, the Guild barely reacted at all, apart for Rues' raised eyebrow and a feral grin from Damien. Teyla thought it was fairly anticlimactic but pushed aside her disappointment…she was secretly glad that they hadn't reacted. It showed that these were the right demons to be part of the Guild. Smirking gleefully she uttered a name that was always associated with power.

"Belthazar."

Anthrax let out a bark like laugh. "Oh dude this is _good_! You come back from the dead more times than _Barbas _and that guy came back a lot. Always iced by those Charmed Ones though…oh well. Welcome to the fold brother. "

Belthazar grinned, red and black skin making him an intimidating figure.

"It's good to be back."

* * *

Piper closed the manor door behind her gently.

Paige had gone to meet Henry for what Piper thought to be an incredibly late date. Piper hadn't even had a chance to tell her sister about Chris before the witch had orbed away. Deciding that crowding Billie and her parents wasn't the best idea, and feeling like she was intruding, the eldest Charmed One had decided to talk a walk, and leave Phoebe to play peacemaker. She needed space to think, and the coolness of the night along with the soft light from the stars seemed soothing; much nicer than the harsh glare of the sun. So she walked down the street, taking her time, slow strides almost casual.

Wyatt was safe at magic school and she would pick him up tomorrow morning. She had suspected that tonight would not be easy and so had told the person watching him that she may not collect him till morning. Already, however, she felt the slight ache that came with leaving a child with someone else. She wanted him beside her, in her sight…safe. And then her thoughts drifted to Leo, the husband she had just lost, all in the name of a battle she was supposed to face. She missed him. And she kept on forgetting he was gone; reaching for his hand when she was worried, his name on her lips when she needed advice. It was hard to have lost him.

And then there was Chris.

He had run. He had run from her and she had no idea why…who _does _that? What secret was he concealing now? What had happened that had caused him to want to hide from her? What had happened for him to want to never see her again?

Shaking her head, the witch continued, concrete streets solid under her feet, sky infinite above her. Light shone down, bathing everything a light ghostly light, the streetlights the only thing resembling anything brighter. Zoning out again, she wondered how she was going to tell her sisters about Chris. It didn't exactly come up in conversation…did she just go 'Hey guys, y'know my son, the grown up one who we have been searching for for the last two years and who we had presumed dead? Yeah, _that _one. Well, he sorta turned up today. At that company place. Weird huh? Oh, and did I mention he ran away from me and didn't say a word? Yeah that's odd right.'

Piper snorted. No way was she doing that. Maybe she'd just have to find the boy herself and then drag him back to the manor to explain himself. Yeah. That sounded good.

A sudden noise startled her.

Looking up she examined her surroundings. Her feet had carried her to a park; and the trees were rustling in the wind. There was a bench to her left and one to her right while in front of her stretched a wide clearing of bright grass, silver in the starlight, made for picnicking. The wooden benches cast spiky shadows in the darkness, and looked cold. It didn't take her long to find the source of the noise though because, leaning against one of the trees surrounding the clearing, was a figure. He had obviously stepped on a branch or something, but she had a funny feeling that it wasn't accidental.

"So you decided to come back." the witch couldn't keep the hurt from her voice.

"Yeah." Chris said quietly, tone sounding the guiltiest she had ever heard it.

There was a long, uncomfortable silence, and she heard him fidget a few times, almost as if he was nervous…worried. It seemed like such a natural move that it drained a little of her anger. But it only increased her curiosity, he was acting guilty, but then why had he run away? Finding her voice, she asked "Why did you run?"

He stepped fully out of the darkness, green eyes bright in the relative gloom; skin pale in the shining light from the sky. Clad in the same gear she had seen him in earlier, hands placed casually in his leather jacket, he walked forwards a few steps until he was a few feet away from her. She saw him hesitate before he replied carefully "It's complicated."

Piper, for reasons that completely escaped her, felt perfectly calm. Looking him straight in the eye she said "So explain it to me."

He sighed, but nodded, walking over to one of the benches and sitting down. The witch followed, expression expectant, eyes scanning his features. Chris was silent for a long time, before he finally spoke. "When I killed the Illusion, things went a little strange. He told me some things; things I couldn't believe. An Angel of Destiny visited me. Confirmed things. Straightened them out. And then I had to leave…and I could never come back. So when I saw you, I panicked, because you had seen me and you weren't supposed to."

Piper frowned "Since when do _you _obey someone when they tell you to do something?"

Chris laughed slightly, but didn't answer.

Piper frowned more. "Chris-"

"But I couldn't leave it like that. You're my mother, and I know you may not have accepted it, but I can't treat you like you don't matter." Chris interrupted her a smile on his face.

The witch smiled back, wondering were all this was coming from, wondering how Chris could be so different and yet so very much the same. The answer came quickly, it had been two years, after all. But she also knew that he was trying to distract her from her earlier question so she said, quite plainly "Since when do _you _listen to anyone?"

He huffed slightly, eyes dancing , but she could see the slight toughening of his expression. But his tone was light when he next spoke "Gee, you make me sound like I only listen to myself."

Piper must have made some kind of expression for he narrowed his eyes at her and grinned before saying in mock outrage "See? _That's _what you think. I can't believe this…"

The witch just looked at him, realising how different he was. Before he had seemed old for his years, living a life that no one should have lived, unresolved problems always present but not noticeable unless you saw him without them. She had never noticed but now…she saw it clearly. Something had changed him. He seemed wiser…no, that was wrong. He seemed to have left those problems behind, almost as if he had more to deal with, and seemed less jaded. As if he had seen an equal amount of good as evil. Piper, almost without realising it muttered "Your different."

Chris's smile turned slightly wistful but also sad "Yeah, I guess." he suddenly gave her a sideways look. "And when did you get so good at figuring me out?"

Piper didn't answer, she only narrowed her eyes before making a wild guess at why he had never said goodbye, never been to see her, never come back. "What did they say to you?"

Chris frowned. "What?"

The oldest Charmed One sighed, hating Chris's ability to hide absolutely everything, but this was the only explanation. The only one that made sense. Elaborating, she told him "What did they say to you to make you go with them?"

Chris said nothing, seemingly caught between lying and telling the truth, unsure which one he wanted to go with. Piper pressed onwards, wanting to know even as she also didn't want to ever find out. "Did they threaten you? Blackmail you? No? What is it they told you, Chris?"

"Nothing. They said nothing." Chris replied, before he changed the subject quickly, face still blank except for a small smile that seemed to have everything to do with the fact that he was talking to her- his mother. "Look, I have a lot to tell you, ok? And it's going to take a while to explain. But there will be no more secrets, no more lies, just the plain and honest truth. When I came back to save Wyatt, I had to keep everything secret. My identity included. But since you already know that…then there is no reason to withhold anything any longer. No more games; no more running… "

Piper looked at him in shock, wondering for this first time if this was really Chris as he finished his explanation.

"…what do you want to know?"

Piper was silent for a minute, looking at the man beside her blankly. When she spoke, her voice was surprised and incredulous. "Let me get this straight. You, my neurotic-whiteligher-from-the-future-turned-son, who is the single most practised liar I have ever met, whose secret keeping habits are practically part of your personality, who I used have to bug for weeks to get to reveal _anything_, are going to tell me whatever I want to know, right now?"

Chris had the _nerve _to look completely confused. "Er…yeah?"

Piper got up from the bench and raised her hands threateningly. "All right, hold it! Who are you and what have you done with my son?"

Chris only laughed. "It's me Piper. And don't look so shocked. I do _so _reveal stuff. And I am _not _neurotic!"

The witch looked at him suspiciously for a moment before sitting back down beside him, feeling a cold wind blow, making the trees leaves rustle. She sighed and then turned back to him, brown eyes curious and she asked "What did they say to you?"

Chris groaned "Piper…"

"No, I'm serious, and until you tell me why you had to leave I will not ask you anything else." Piper interrupted him, expression stubborn and set.

"Fine, I'll tell you why I had to leave, but not what they said." Chris replied, and before Piper could protest, he was already explaining. "It turns out I'm not as unimportant as I thought. I used to think it was weird that there were no great prophecies or anything about me…about what I'd become, but now it makes perfect sense. I was always supposed to save Wyatt. I-"

He stopped.

Piper frowned, noticing the way he had tensed, almost as if there was someone there. She felt herself tense with him, and the hairs on the back of her neck prickled. There _was _someone there. Examining the trees around her, she only saw the darkness, and the soft swaying of the leaves. But she knew that something was not right, even as she saw nothing. Looking at Chris, she saw his eyes darting about as hers must have been s few seconds before. He focused back on her, and they both stood together, anticipating what was going to happen next.

She saw Chris force himself to relax, and was surprised at how natural it looked, and she did the same. Her son smiled in a relieved looking sort of way, and then said out loud, but not too loud "Guess, it was just the wind."

Piper rolled her eyes "We're both just paranoid, huh?"

Chris gave her a smile that had a conspiratorial edge to it and replied "_Obviously_."

Piper almost laughed at the sarcasm but at that moment a energy flew through the air at them, meant to catch them off guard. But they were both ready for it. With a twitch of Chris's fingers, the energy ball reversed direction, spinning of into the darkness. Figures moved fluidly out of the trees, ten of them, and Piper realised they were surrounded. Raising her hands, she blew up three of them up in quick succession, before moving onto the next ones, destroying several energy balls while she was at it. Why the hell were demons attacking them here? This seemed planned…but what _was _the plan? What were they after? She didn't know and she didn't particularly care, the witch thought angrily as she blew up more demons. Looking around her, she did a quick head count, seeing Chris fighting a few off to the side. There were ten left…

Wait a second. Ten?

What the _hell_?

Flicking her wrists at another demon, she watched as it exploded in a shower of blue lights, turning silver in the light from the night sky, before the figure reformed out of the scattered orbs. These were not demons…there were _whitelighters. _Well_, _the witch thought angrily, I always knew that the Elders weren't happy with us but this is taking it a _bit _too far.

The fight went on for a while, with the Charmed One trying to come up with a vanquishing spell. Her, and Chris's attempts to stop the attackers had failed, with the figures ignoring everything they said to try and stop the fight. Still, the battle was going their way and Piper wondered why the whitelighters even bothered to reform. The fight was so one sided. There was no need to call in any assistance…yet. Then a eleventh figure orbed in, a struggling girl in his arms. And Chris froze and she saw his eyes flash with panic as he saw the bronzed skinned girl. When the other figures saw him, they stepped back, forming a circle around the two witches. The man had pale skin and black hair. His smile was ice cold.

"I see you recognise my little hostage?" the man asked.

Chris nodded, eyes blazing, though Piper had no idea why…until she looked a little closer at the girl. Black hair, bronzed skin, a red tattoo birthmark on her arm? Yes, she knew who the girl was. Bianca, Chris's future fiancé. Her son relaxed out of his defensive stance, panic melting away from his features as he hid it behind a calm mask, and took on a casual position with his hands in his jacket pockets. "So," he said. "You've got my attention."

"Ah, yes, I suppose we have." the man replied, hazel eyes blank. Bianca struggled even more, scowling, clearly _not _pleased with being held hostage. Piper found herself admiring the girls spunk. "Don't try to orb, it only works with me and my _friends_. Oh, and no calling another whitelighter to help you. No one can here your calls."

"And here is where we hit a little road bump in your plan, whoever you are. Since your obviously not that smart, I'll spell it out for you. " Chris began, tone as icy as the other mans smile. "You let the girl go; otherwise I'll kill you myself."

"Yes, your so _good _at that aren't you?" the man spat and Piper saw Chris wince suddenly. "I'm taking you back to the future. The Elders want to have a little…chat. Now, if you continue to resist. Dear little Bianca will not be going home tonight…or ever again. Or, at least, not alive."

"Back to the future?" Piper asked, frowning, why did this man want Chris _there_?

"Yes, you see the Elders want to have a little talk about why he is doing nothing to save Wyatt," the man then tilted his head consideringly. "Among other things…"

"But-" Piper began.

"Fine." Chris spoke before she could get her words out. Green eyes determined, he stared the man who had the past version of the woman he loved straight in the eye. "I'll go with you. If you let her go. But don't you think for a second that the Elders will be able to keep me in the future. They can't even stand up for the world."

Piper glared at him, he was such a idiot, and there was no way she was letting him walk into this alone. "Well, if your taking him your taking me too."

Now it was Chris's turn to glare at her, but the man with the cold smile only smiled wider, clearly not understanding the fact that this was the oldest _Charmed One _he was talking to here. "Sure, this just means more leverage." he then turned to Chris and said "So you agree? You'll come with us without a fuss."

The witch nodded and, after giving Piper a warning glance to stay out of this, he shrugged "Sure."

"Alright." then man made a motion with his hand, and four of the whitelighters from the circle stepped forwards. Two grabbed Chris's arms and forced them behind his back while the other two did the same for Piper. However, the witch could tell they were a lot gentler with her than they were with Chris, for he grimaced slightly in pain while she barely felt the grip on her arms. She felt her hands being tied behind her back with what was probably magic proof rope. Or whatever future people used to tie people up these days. Turning her eyes back to Chris, she saw the man on the left of him (a powerfully built guy with grey eyes) take what looked to be a blindfold out of his pocket.

As he went to put it on the restrained witch, the man who still held the struggling Bianca said silkily "No. I think that Chris is more than capable of doing that himself."

At his words, the whitelighters let go of Chris's arms, the man with grey eyes smirking as he put the blindfold in the witches hand; the black material almost invisible in the dim light. The witch raised an eyebrow, looking decidedly unimpressed and remarking "I hardly think its going to matter if I can see or not."

"But of course it will." the man replied, and Piper got the impression that he was incredibly amused, the same goes for the rest of the whitelighters in the clearing. "There is a spell on that material. We all know how _dangerous _your power can be, and we know you need your eyes to use it. It's spelled so that you can't take it off, with or without magic. And since we are all cloaked from your sensing powers…you'll be practically harmless."

Piper scowled, if that man even thought about blindfolding _her _she'd blow him up. Chris, however, seemed completely calm remarking "_Fascinating_."

The man frowned, evidently expecting more of a reaction, but he didn't lose his cold smile. His next words were said in a mocking, taunting tone. "Go on then, put it on. And make sure there aren't any gaps. We wouldn't want you to actually be able to _see_, now would we?"

Chris complied, wrapping the blindfold over his eyes once, tying it behind his head loosely leaving it to trail down his back. He then stared in the direction he remembered the man who had Bianca being and said "There. Am I harmless enough for you now?"

The hazel eyed man only smirked jeeringly, despite the witch not being able to see him and replied "I think you can do better than that."

Piper somehow knew that if Chris's eyes were visible; he would be rolling them.

The witch untied the knot, the magic letting him for some reason, and wrapped it another few times around his eyes and, seemingly realising that anymore rebellion would put Bianca in even more danger, tied the knot tightly at the back of his head. As soon as he was done, the black material flashed blue for a moment, before fading back to black. Chris tilted his head to the side as if in boredom and then asked "That good enough for you?"

"I suppose it'll do." the man shot back, voice dripping with satisfaction. Bianca gone from his arms now, two of the other whitelighters holding her.

Chris nodded, and when the grey eyed man went to grab his arm, the witch moved out of the way, sticking his foot out and successfully tripping the man over, Piper could not contain her snort. Chris then moved his head from left to right as if in confusion before saying, as the man got back to his feet, in a innocent (how he managed _that _she would never know) voice.

"Oops, didn't see you there."

The mans reply was a punch to the stomach, that made Piper try to move forwards, eyes blazing but the whitelighters behind her stopped the movement. Another punch to the back sent the witch sprawling to the ground, and as he began to get back up to his feet, coughing a little, the man snarled "Oops, guess you didn't see _that _either."

As Chris got to his feet, Piper could only watch as his hands were pulled behind his back and the same, or so she thought, rope was used to tie them there. The witch still had a smile on his face though, as he sighed and said loudly "Is this anyway to treat a blind man?"

The woman on his left hissed "Your not blind."

Chris looked at her like she was crazy. Or, at least, Piper thought that was his intention, since he was actually looking a few inches to her left. And then he said, completely seriously "I am _now_."

The Charmed One heard a voice from behind her ask "What about the Charmed One?"

The leader looked at her thoughtfully and Piper thought that she should make something _very _clear, right now. "If you try to blindfold me, I will vanquish you. And when I get my hands free, I will blow you up as many times as I feel like doing until I feel better, ok? So don't come near me with one of those things and don't even _think _about using a cheap hostage trick on me either."

The man almost took a step back before he caught himself. But he nodded. And then smiled. Again. "Oh, that reminds me. We don't want you two chanting spells to free yourselves do we?"

He snapped his fingers and out of nowhere, two potion bottles appeared, in his hands. The potion was clear, but had a curious sheen in the dim light of the clearing. The witch knew that it wasn't a binding potion, and thought that binding their powers would probably be more effective, but there was no way she was telling _him _that. Piper glared at him, shaking her head vehemently. "There is no way I'm drinking that."

The man only shrugged, as if he knew that she was going to drink it anyway and then walked over to Chris. He offered the potion to Chris and, after they had a whispered conversation that Piper couldn't hear, the witch nodded, and allowed the man to pour the potion down his throat. Chris grimaced slightly, but was otherwise fine, but there was still no way Piper was drinking that potion. The man seemed to notice this; for he motioned to the two whitelighters holding Chris to let go of him, and then suddenly grabbed the younger man by his hair, yanking his head back and taking a knife out of the folds of his clothes.

Holding it near her sons throat, he grinned sadistically at her. "The Elders want him alive but that doesn't mean we can't…_cut _him up a bit. As long as he doesn't lose too much blood. We could just say he resisted, whose going to know? Maybe a few shallow ones to start with, like on the arms and hands. And then a few on the throat. Just a few…there are some important arteries there. Oh, and maybe a stab wound here and there. Like by his collarbone; that won't be too life threatening." the man let out a chuckle dragging the knife lightly over her sons neck as he spoke; but not drawing blood. "And it's not like Chris can do anything to stop us or def-"

"Alright!" Piper interrupted. "I'll drink your damn potion."

The man let go of Chris, who was promptly grabbed by the two whitelighters who had been restraining him before, and walked over to her tipping the potion into her mouth. It tasted horrible. The witch grimaced as she swallowed it and then glared at the man, wondering how he ever got to be a whitelighter. Chris, it seemed, was thinking the same thing for he said, sounding way too cheerful for someone who had just been held at knifepoint "And here I thought whitelighters were supposed to be nice, pacifist people."

The man turned back to him, knife hidden again, hazel eyes bright he replied "I'm an Elder."

Chris's lips twitched as he nodded. "That explains everything."

The man ignored him, nodding at the people who held Bianca…they promptly orbed away. "We have what we came for. Lets go."

Strangely, instead of orbing, the group simply pulled their captives into the trees, as if going somewhere first. She wondered, briefly, when being kidnapped by some sort of magical being had become so normal that the didn't even get panicked anymore. On the contrary, she was curious about _why _exactly they had decided it was a good idea to kidnap the oldest Charmed One and her son. Still, the witch couldn't help the slight prickle of unease…like something big was about to happen. Shaking herself out of her thoughts, Piper allowed herself, reluctantly, to be pulled along, but took great pleasure out of pretending to stumble just to slow her kidnappers down. Chris, too, seemed to enjoy doing the same thing. After a minute of walking Piper heard a muttered argument from behind her and didn't even try to stifle a grin.

"Watch out," Chris's voice said happily "Blind man coming through."

"Will you _shut _up." a male voice warned.

"Again, it's not _my _fault I can't see!" Chris remarked.

"Oh my god, for someone with such a bad reputation you sure are annoying." a female voice hissed.

Piper smiled.

But when she was pulled onto a street and saw what was directly in front of her she paused, and her eyes widened in shook.

* * *

I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'm both happy and unhappy with the end…I was trying to go for a nice ominous feel. But it seems that whenever I write Chris, and Piper in fact, I have to put some nice sarcasm in. Because, really?, all their lives they've been attacked and kidnapped and stuff, so I don't think they would be outright terrified. And Chris hides his emotions too damn well so even if he were scared…you'd never guess. So I had to write him and Piper in character as well as trying to create an ominous 'shit they've been kidnapped oh no' feel. It was hard but really, really, fun to write. And I realise that that guy is an Elder so he shouldn't be so sadistic but in my defence…this is the future. And I kinda forgot that I was writing an Elder until I read back and thought 'Ohh, that guy shouldn't be so evil' lol.

And…I've already written the next chapter and it's going to be slightly shorter than this one. But this has been my longest yet so I hope that's not too much of a problem. And I'm trying to work my characterisation of Chris out. Because he's different but the same and -glares at the screen- I think I'm having some trouble. And I also used this chapter to show a little of Billie's dark side...with the whole she'd make them thing. Yeah.

Oh and Jade? I wrote this chapter before I read your review but it made me smile when I realised that you'd probably like me bringing Belthazar back. I agree that Cole and Phoebe were made for each other. Coop and her just didn't fit. So yeah, even though I wrote it _before _you reviewed_…_that was for you!

Please read and review!


	6. The Future Is As Uncertain As The Past

Update lol. Please enjoy the chapter…thanks for all the reviews! Jade, I'm glad you liked the chapter, hopefully you'll like this one as well!

Chapter 5- The Future Is As Uncertain As The Past

* * *

Being blindfolded was a very strange experience.

Strangely enough, in all his life of being a Halliwell (and his other lives), Chris had never really been blindfolded before. Or, at least, he had never been blindfolded for long. Chris sighed as he was dragged through the trees, his eyes unconsciously straining to see something, anything. He didn't know where he was going or where he was, or where Piper was, or whether Bianca was safe or not…and that was very unsettling. The potion had tasted horrible; and Chris had a funny feeling that he would soon find out what _exactly _it did to stop him from casting spells.

People usually said that being blind opened up your other senses more but Chris wasn't feeling anything like that yet. He kept stumbling, his lack of vision disorientating him as well as the constant sounds around him, the wind, the trees…footsteps.

Why had he agreed to this?

This was for Bianca. Chris felt a familiar stab of grief as he thought of her. Of what could have been. He had always thought that he would be able to marry her once the future was saved. He'd always thought that he'd find his way to her even if the future was different. But he knew that that could never happen, the future was one that didn't include him. Still, the least he could do was make sure she was safe. And when that Elder had threatened her; the witch had known that he would carry out his threats…and he had also known that he could not, _would _not, allow that to happen.

But Piper coming along had not been part of his plan.

And he couldn't help but wonder why the hell they had kidnapped him. He had done a lot to stop Wyatt. Hell, he had gone back to save him. So why were they treating him like he was some sort of traitor? And, anyway, Wyatt had been _saved_…was the timelines crossing over? He vaguely remembered an angel of destiny telling him something about this but he remembered nothing beyond that. What was going on? Chris had a feeling that when he found out the answer he wasn't going to like it. The texture of the ground beneath his feet changed suddenly, to the hard, solid, feel of asphalt. Frowning, he realised that they were walking through the streets, and grinned as he thought about what a strange group of people they would look like to anyone that saw them.

"What are you smiling about?" a gruff voice said from his side.

Chris said nothing, only continuing to smile in a way he was certain was infuriating, but he couldn't be sure, since he couldn't see the mans reaction. But, however, from the sudden tightening off the grip on his arm, he guessed the whitelighter was not pleased.

Then he heard Piper's gasp. And her surprised "What the hell?"

And then he frowned, because he couldn't see, and he could tell that something was happening but he didn't know what it was and he couldn't see it. Sighing, he regretted ever agreeing to put on that damn blindfold. The Elder must have seen his discomfort for the man said softly "Missing being able to actually see? Shame. But I'm afraid that blindfold is not likely to come off anytime soon."

"How about I offer you a new deal. I'm bored now and I can't be bothered to play along with your little game anymore. So how about you let us both go and we'll kill you quickly?" Chris retorted, knowing that the man wasn't going to do what he said, but feeling a lot better for threatening him.

"I'm sorry, Chris, but I can't do that." he seemed slightly closer now, as if he had moved while Chris had been talking. But he did not sound sorry.

"Dude," Chris began scornfully. "_Wyatt _can pretend to be sincere better than you can…and that is not saying much." As soon as the words left his mouth, Chris regretted them, it was probably not a good idea to mention the man who controlled all of their world and would _love _to see them dead in casual conversation. However, since the witch had never paid much attention to taboo, it was only after he had spoken that he realised what he had said.

There was silence for a moment.

When the man spoke again Chris could almost hear the icy smile in his voice, and that told him what his expression was. "For someone who helped build the resistance against the twice blessed you sure don't seem to hate him that much. Oh, and before you reply, think about this…little Bianca is only an _orb _away."

Chris stayed quiet, the threat enough to dissuade him from saying anything.

"One more word out of you and I will kill the girl and make you watch…but how silly of me! You can't see, can you?" the tone was as mocking as his previous taunts, and Chris felt panic at the thought of him harming Bianca. But also anger. Intense anger "Well then, I'll just have to play around with what you can _hear_. Still, the end result will be the same. The demonic little assassin will die. So… Not. One. Word."

Chris forced down the anger that had been building throughout what the Elder was saying. He knew the man would carry out his promise; these people were from the future, _his _time, and he knew that while the man may have been a kindly, if slightly up himself, Elder once upon a time, he wasn't that now. Watching the world burn did things to you, and he knew that the Elders had suffered great losses before they sealed themselves off. And he knew how much it must a frustrated many of them to have been made to _watch _as their charges died. Watch and do nothing. Forcing himself to shrug nonchalantly, as if it didn't matter, but it _did_, Chris said nothing.

After a minute or so, when it became clear that Chris wasn't going to speak, the Elder seemed satisfied, commenting amusedly "Wise decision."

But while Chris had to stay silent; Piper was by no means as inclined.

He heard her voice, furious, ringing with the power she carried as a witch, as a Charmed One…even though she was unaware of it. "Oh yes, the big tough _Elder _has to use cheap threats to get his own way. Go have your temper _tantrum _somewhere else you pathetic excuse for a magical being."

Chris felt himself smile, suddenly realising how much he had missed his mothers fearlessness.

But the Elder, it seemed, was not amused anymore. "I think you should stay silent as well. Or you might find your son short of…a finger or two."

But Piper didn't lose control, lending her voice her fury, as she replied "I don't think so."

Clearly, something was happening, as he then heard a low whine and a…snapping sound? What the? But it didn't sound like anyone was being harmed, almost like the air itself was bending. The Elder then spoke again "I'll let that slide…this time. We don't have long enough to hang about. It seems the witch is right. Forcing her into compliance will waste the time window we have to get through. And we wouldn't want to be stuck in the past would we? Accidents might happen."

Chris scowled, he had a good idea what 'accidents' he was talking about. The man would probably go after Bianca again. And then Wyatt. Still…he had to wondered why they had not attacked the young witch already. But he had no time to think on this as he was suddenly dragged forwards, back to a place he never thought he would go to again, and felt a strange sensation like walking through water, before it stopped. And he knew he was somewhere different. Because of the air, the street beneath his feet, and the silence. Like the grave. An atmosphere of death and fear.

"Lets go." a voice said.

And Chris felt himself being orbed away.

* * *

"Tell me what you know about Christy."

She was back at the manor, trying to get information out of her parents. And right now? She thought that it would be easier to get blood out of a stone. Her mom was looking at her sadly, a longing in her expression to reach out and hug her daughter fighting with a desire to keep her out of harms way. Her dad was much the same. Billie sighed, when were they going to see that she wasn't a child anymore?

"We know that she was probably kidnapped by demonic forces. But we have been going down every possible avenue. Everything; including normal kidnappings." Helene told her, ignoring the warning her husband gave her as she spoke.

"But how could you? Your human…mortals. What are you going to do against demons?" Billie replied, worried for her parents but also strangely touched by how far they were willing to go for Christy. For Billie's sister; their eldest daughter. "And why didn't you tell me?"

Helene went to open her mouth but Carl glared at her. The woman then rolled her eyes. "Look, love, we have protected her long enough. If we don't tell her everything then we're going to lose her. Or she'll run head first into danger. What if they come after her now she knows she is a witch?"

Carl sighed, worry and defeat showing in his brown eyes. But he nodded. And then started to speak. "We have a coven of witches helping us. They help us follow our leads. We may not be able to do magic but we certainly know a lot about it. And while we may not be able to make a vanquishing potion…we do carry them around."

As if to prove her husbands point, Helene opened her purse and took out a clear vial shaking the potion within a little.

"What do you know?" Billie couldn't keep the excitement from her voice.

"We know that Christy was taken by a demon that had something to do with this symbol." Helene explained, taking a picture of a strange looking sign out of her handbag. "And we didn't just come to San Francisco to see you honey. We are also here to investigate a group called the Triad."

"You think they are involved?" Billie asked, mind alight with the research she could do to find out. The longing for her sister coming back as she found another clue to what may have happened to her.

Helene shrugged sadly. "Don't get your hopes up. We don't know whether they have anything to do with anything yet. The coven that helps us just told us that it might be a possible lead."

Billie nodded. "So what's these guys deal?"

"They are a group of three powerful demons who are very high up on the demonic hierarchy. Apparently they have incredible control over the Underworld; second only to the Source." Carl replied, explaining the concepts of magic, things he should know nothing about, without batting an eyes.

"How do you guys know so much?" Billie asked, disbelieving, and hurt that all this had been kept from her, all these years.

"When Christy was taken I told your father that you two could be witches." Helene began softly. "He didn't believe me at first, but when I managed to convince him I wasn't crazy, we got in touch with some of my mothers, as she was a witch, friends. And they helped us with our search. But there was nothing for twenty odd years, but, now, suddenly, there are signs popping up everywhere."

"Wait, so you think its not a coincidence?" Billie asked.

"No. We think whoever took Christy wants you too." Carl told her calmly and then his eyes hardened. "So we don't want you getting involved in this. Your _not _going after Christy. We can deal with that. The sisters you are with; their powerful witches. They can protect you."

Billie glared at them. "You can't shut me out."

"Honey-" Helene began, eyes soft and scared.

"No." and then the witch sighed, suddenly realising how late it was, and how tired she felt. "Look, can we talk tomorrow. I can't deal with you right now."

Her parents looked at each other, and she saw them talking through that look, knew that it was a conversation she would never be able to understand. But then they nodded. And her mother came up to her and gave her a hug, before pulling away. Lined face regretful and sad, Helene said "Be safe." before turning to her husband, who gave Billie a tense smile, and walking out of the living room. Billie didn't move until she heard them close the door, hearing Phoebe enter the room behind her. "I feel so betrayed."

She heard the Charmed One sigh "I know."

Billie turned round to face her friend, hurt and confusion swirling through her mind, singing through her brain and then she said in exasperation. "I just wish everything could _go back to normal_."

Phoebe nodded sympathetically and then frowned face suddenly confused. And then her eyes went wide, face contorting into a mask of fear, pain, rage and loss. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and before Billie could say anything…

She screamed.

* * *

As he reformed, Chris wondered where he was.

But then he heard the clicking sounds of the whitelighters language and he realised that he was 'Up There' in the Elders sanctuary that had been sealed off. Was it still sealed? What had happened? Cursing the Elder with the icy smile and his damn blindfold, the witch tried to figure out what was going on. But everyone was cloaked from him, since his power was telling him there was no one there but he could hear them. The man to his left laughed "Frustrating, isn't it?"

Chris was about to open his mouth when he realised that he wasn't supposed to be speaking. He wondered if that still applied now they were in the future and then thought about whether they would go back and harm Bianca if he _did _say anything. Thinking about the sadistic Elder that was in charge of this little group made him think yes to both these questions. So he contented himself with thinking "You have _no _idea."

The man laughed when he said nothing "Oh right, your not allowed to speak are you? My mistake."

Chris was saved from the temptation to reply with Pipers incredulous "_Leo_?"

Ah, right, his father. Chris pushed the hurt and betrayal away, he had never thought that his father would ever do this to him, go this far. Still, there was a chance that Leo hadn't ordered this. His father had never outright hated him. Never. The witch was proven right when another male voice addressed him. "Hello Chris."

It was serene sounding and light, but he could feel how cold and detached it was. The tone had none of the blatant iciness of the other Elder's but it betrayed the fact that the two men were of the same creed. Or something like that anyway. But, seeing as Chris was not allowed to speak, the witch thought he'd have as much fun with that as possible. Giving a wide, cheerful grin, he pointedly didn't give any indication that he had heard what had been said, choosing to stare off into what he hoped was space. Piper caught on quickly, recovering from the shock of seeing her husband. Her voice, dripping with sarcasm reached his ears barely a minute after the man had spoken.

"Yeah, he can't talk y'see. Not allowed. Tragic really. The policies of you Elders these days, need some serious work, since your threats _really _aren't specific enough."

Chris added in a solemn nod after his mother finished.

Then the voice of the hazel eyed man whispered in his ear "I didn't think that you would be so eager to do what I said…alright, I'll give you permission to speak. The Elders don't like to be kept waiting."

But Chris heard the irritation in his tone, and that had been what he had been going for, so he began speaking again with a tone that was casually unconcerned. "Y'know, no ones ever said hello in such a polite tone to me before. At least not for a while. Sadly, I can not return the favour, since I can't see who had spoken, since I'm _blindfolded_, and I can't shake your hand in a way befitting your _noble _station because my _hands _are _tied _behind my back. But…what can you do?"

He heard a sigh and then a calm voice said "I see your as _charming _as ever."

Chris was about to make a remark about how sarcasm doesn't suit Elders when he realised he recognised that voice, had heard it recently, and not in a good situation either. Freezing for a moment, he whispered "I know you."

He then heard Piper's infuriated voice "_You_! How dare you-"

But it seemed someone had cut her off, stopped her from finishing, and Chris finally realised where he had heard that voice before. His eyes widened behind the blindfold, and anger flooded his mind as the pieces suddenly snapped together. And he almost laughed at how long it had taken him to realise it. Here was the reason he had been given a family only to have it ripped away, here was the reason he had been stuck in a prison for four years…here was the person who had turned Wyatt. "Hello Gideon."

"Ah, so you do remember me." the Elder replied.

"Remember you?" Chris hissed angrily, moving forwards blindly only to be pulled back. "How could I forget?"

"I have no idea what you are referring to, I was only your head teacher after all…" Gideon replied softly, tone perfectly innocent, but Chris knew better. And he sensed the undertone of panic in the Elders voice.

"Don't play dumb with me. I know perfectly well what you did. And so do you." Chris shot back, anger and hatred bleeding into his tone, but he didn't care. The cause of everything, everyone's deaths, all the torture, pain and loss that existed in this future was all _his _fault. All on _his _head. And Chris couldn't _see _him, if only he could, the Elder would be dead within an instant. "You _traitor_! How dare you stand there, live up here, all safe and sound, when down on earth everyone is suffering because of you! Because of what _you _did. You disgust me."

It was strange being in the future, everything that had happened in his last life came rushing back, raw. He was no longer prominently destiny, a collection of many different people, he was just Chris Halliwell, and in front of him was the person responsible for the monster his brother had become. Before Gideon had a chance to reply to what he had just said the witch added calmly "Tell me where you are. In front of me, a little to the right? Where?"

Gideon's voice came back confused. "I have no idea what you are talking about…and why do you want to know where I am?"

"So that I know that I'm looking in the right direction." Chris replied coldly, planning to blast the Elder with his telekinesis.

The other Elders seemed content to stay silent, watch and listen, Chris noted as Gideon replied "I don't think so Chris."

The witch ignored him. "_Tell _me where you are."

When the Elder declined again, Chris decided to take more drastic measures, and started reworking a spell to vanquish Elders as the man began speaking again. "The Elders have reason to believe that you are not working to help Wyatt turn good. We also have reason to believe that you have turned evil with him. What do you have to say to that?"

"That your _stupid_?" Chris retorted absently, changing a rhyme to something else and adding in an extra word…

"Sorry, no, and we also are holding you responsible for the murder of several Elders and whitelighters. The exact number is still being determined. Oh and lets not forget the mortals and witches." Gideon continued coldly.

It was then that Chris realised that Piper was no longer in the same room because he didn't hear her outraged arguments that were sure to have followed that remark. Funny, he didn't think Leo was here either. Still, the witch glared and hoped that the Elder could see it. "Your crazy if you think I've joined Wyatt. He may be my brother; but he's insane. And I think we _both _knowwhy."

Gideon only laughed and replied in a condescending tone "I think your confused-"

"No, I'm really not." Chris interrupted the spell finally ready. With a grin in the direction he had chosen to be where Gideon was, but could be completely wrong, the witch began to chant his spell.

_Elder who dared to-_

But something was wrong, pain flashed through his mind, practically paralysing his jaw as he tried to speak the spell he had created. What was going on? Then it dawned on him. He had forgot about the potion; he guessed this was what it did to stop a person from casting a spell. Speaking the words was hard, but he managed to finish the line with great difficulty.

_-harm my brother_

But then he had to stop for a moment before he could continues, feeling the grip on his arm tighten as he unconsciously tried to run forwards, the potion stopping him from saying a single word. Briefly, he wondered how they had made it. Something like this had not been around when he had been in the future, but it had been two years…who knows what the Elders had been doing in that amount of time? Picking up the chant again Chris started from the beginning, trying rush through it.

_Elder who dared to harm my brother_

_Consumed by flames that-_

But he could say no more, as the potion stopped him from speaking again, making him wince with the pain. Why did he have to have agreed to take that potion? The moment he thought that he regretted it; he had done it to protect Bianca, and he would do it again in an instant if he had to. The voice of the Elder who had kidnapped him rang out across the hall, or whatever he was standing in. "Having trouble getting your words out Chris? You might want to just give up already. That potion was made especially for you."

But Chris didn't stop, only starting again, managing to finish the line this time and get further through the spell, pushing aside the pain. He had to do this. Gideon had to die.

_-burn and smother_

_Heart pure black, cold, like obsidian_

_Traitor I name you-_

He had to stop again breathing heavily, the potion doing its job incredibly well. If this were any other day; he'd be admiring how well it worked. But since it was being used on him he thought he would pass on that. To give himself time to rest, he retorted in a cold, furious hiss "No, I am not going to stop. Gideon destroyed my family. That murderous, lying bastard deserves to die."

He started the spell again, for the last time, concentrating completely on trying to get his words out. The pain was locking his jaw, stopping him from speaking, and he wondered why they hadn't just made a potion that would take away his speech whenever he tried to cast a spell, instead of just causing him pain. But there was no time to dwell on that now. He had to finish this spell; he had to. For Wyatt, for every single friend he had ever lost, for everyone he had had to kill, for his family, for his mother.

But he was interrupted mid stream by a blow to the back of his head that he could not have anticipated. And he fell forwards at the force of it, feeling the world fade away. One last thought echoed through his mind as he fell, aimed at the Elder…

Don't think for a _second _this is over.

* * *

Phoebe dropped to the floor.

She felt herself scream, a long tortured cry torn from her throat, as her mind seemed to feel everything, every emotion, all at once. And suddenly she wasn't Phoebe anymore because how could all of this be hers? And it hurt and hurt and hurt-

-and suddenly she was the neighbour who had just found out her best friend had died. But she was also the woman walking down the road, the one who had just been dumped by her boyfriend of three years after he admitted to having an affair. And the child who had broken his leg falling down the stairs. And the man driving the car who was so damn happy and high that nothing could touch him because _she had said yes _and he was going to get married and it was all going to be amazing, And she was the twenty year old girl down the road who had just got her dream job, the young man who had just got his divorce papers through-

And then she was crying and laughing and yelling in anger and rage and pain because she felt everything. Every last shred of emotion within god knows how big a radius. Tears poured down her face as she laughed, hugging her knees to her chest, wincing at the pain in her head. Oh god make it stop make it stop make it stop _makeitstop_!

"Phoebe?" she heard Billie say, voice completely terrified.

The witch tried to breath. Tried to block out the younger witches emotions like she _should _have been able to do. When she couldn't she managed to say "Get the- the empath blocking- blocking potion and then you have to-to drink it. Please."

Billie nodded, having the sense to back away. "Where is it?"

"Attic. Brown cabinet. Top draw. Clear blue. Labelled 'e'." Phoebe told her, thanking whatever deities were out there that she and her sisters had thought to keep spare potions for if her power ever came back. Just in case the potion they had taken wore off.

Once the girl had left the room Phoebe relaxed and concentrated on breathing. This wasn't like that time with Prue. She could do this, she had done this, it was her power. It didn't control her. No _way _was it going to control her. Just breath. Its all going to be-

-but then she was Billie, full of fear and loss and longing. Wanting her sister. Jealous of the bond the Charmed Ones had. Ashamed for feeling like that. There was the guilt of harming the woman she saw as almost like family; a sudden fear of her powers. And then she was the parent stalking past the manor, all worry and anger and love, looking for the daughter who had stormed out. And then she was the boy down the road, smoking, full of fear and rebellion and devil-may-care. But she was also the lonely girl in the house opposite, afraid of new people. Angry at being afraid. Confused on how she was supposed to act and feel and think and-

Oh it _hurt_. Her head felt like it was going to explode. And she didn't know who she was or where she was or what she was doing because she was too busy being everyone else and it hurt and hurt. But then Billie disappeared from her awareness and she was a little more like her self. Breathing, she tried to concentrate on the floorboards, what they looked like, the cracks…anything.

-but then she was gone again. And she was the man a few streets over who had lost his wife of fifty years. She felt the longing and panic and loss and grief. It felt like she was dying. And she cried with him, great sobs that she knew he felt in his heart but didn't want to express because she wouldn't want him to and he wanted to make her _happy _and then…and then-

-for a moment there was someone there with her, holding her through the pain and fear and happiness and love. She felt like there was someone touching her hand, hugging her. Walking beside her as she waded through the mess of memories and emotion and-

She stopped crying and looked around the room with tear filled eyes. And then Billie walked in, a hot water bottle in her hands, a bar of chocolate in the other. And the witch sat down with her on the floor and handed the hot water bottle to her, unwrapped the chocolate and then broke it into little squares. Phoebe hugged the hot water bottle, a feeling of gratefulness all her own surging through her. And then Billie started to speak to her, as if to try and keep the _other _people away.

"When I was younger my mom used to do this for me whenever I was ill or upset. She'd sit down with me and bring me chocolate."

Phoebe nodded to show she was listening but didn't reply.

"I'm kinda jealous of you guys…with your sister bond. And I know that you probably just felt that. But still. It doesn't change anything. You're my friend. And if your ill or upset or something then I will bring you chocolate and a hot water bottle just as my mom did for me." the witch finished and Phoebe didn't need to be able to read her to tell that the girl felt a little foolish.

Trying for a smile, the Charmed One said softly "Tell me how you discovered your powers."

Billie smiled back and nodded and Phoebe could still feel that presence as she spoke, of someone here with her, and she found herself feeling more like herself with these two people, one she knew and one she didn't, anchoring her to herself.

Breath. In and out.

* * *

Gideon stood serenely in the light filled hall.

He half listened to the conversation that was taking place, his mind on more important things. Like the twice blessed tyrants brother. Originally, the Elder had planned to let him live, but then he had disappeared off to the past and it was all Gideon could do to hold his breath.

If he found out that it was he who had planned to kill Wyatt, there was no doubt that the boy would kill him.

But since he had not faded away or disappeared or anything…nasty like that, Gideon had thought that the witch hadn't discovered his plan yet. So for the next two years, the Elder spent a lot of time building a case against the witch. He had almost laughed at how easy it was. Chris wasn't exactly popular among the Elders. His little spell had ensured that. All Gideon had to do was give these people a voice. Anyway, the boy _was _dangerous and it was true that Wyatt may have been able to turn him, but his death would have the added bonus of destroying any evidence of Gideon's attempt on Wyatt's life. He did not want that to become known. People would start to think that it was he who had turned the child…

Which was ridiculous, really, since Gideon had been right. The boy simply _was _evil. Why else would he have turned?

So he had planned and, since Wyatt hadn't been 'saved' yet, Gideon had plenty of time to strike. Imagine his shock when, not only Chris showed outright hatred to him, but _Piper _as well. If the boy knew of his plans, then why did Gideon still exist? He did not think that the witch would be so lenient as to leave him alive. Anyway, he remembered what had happened well, and he could not recall there ever being a Chris around when Wyatt was a child…

He knew too much. That boy. And the Elder also knew that if that potion hadn't worked he would be dead. Chris had to be taken care of quickly. Before any of the other Elders actually _listened _to what he said.

-"What's to be done about Chris?" Gideon heard, tuning back into the conversation.

"The boy is obviously crazy." another woman replied, but she sounded pensive, thoughtful, and she kept on giving Gideon strange looks. As if she was trying to see into his soul. Well, Gideon thought, I'll just have to make her disappear if she suspects anything. For the good of the Elders. "I think we should hear what he has to say. We may be able to help him…he is evidently confused."

Gideon shook his head. "You know who we are dealing with here."

"All the more reason to make sure we are correct." the woman replied, cool eyes peering at Gideon as if daring him to object. "He is of the Warren line. A very important and respected magical family. I think he deserves the trial we were originally going to give him."

The hazel eyed man who had led the group of whitelighters who had captured Chris disagreed "Why? We already know he's guilty. Why not just kill him and remove the threat? You know what he's done…how many died because of him. Do you really want to give him a chance to escape?"

The woman sighed, seemingly in defeat. "Alright, we will vote. In the council chamber, twenty minutes from now."

Gideon watched as she and the other man walked away. Then he too turned and strode through the halls of the Elders sanctuary. There was no _way _he was letting this get to a vote. He wanted the witches death guaranteed, something as important as this was not left to chance. Chris would have to die to keep Gideon's secret safe. And, of course, as revenge for all the things he had done for Wyatt. Anger rose inside him, crying out for vengeance for the deaths of so many innocent people, but he pushed it aside. He was an Elder; and should not feel such strong emotions. Besides, things were going his way. There was no way he could lose. He would not let himself fall…

And he didn't care who he had to kill to make sure he did not.

* * *

The call had come in late.

Jerry was the second to the scene, a more ordinary police officer had got there first and called him in. The man was glad; this was under his jurisdiction after all. It was his town and robberies were all dealt with by his station.

The house was large, more like a mansion, and had a gravel driveway that crunched under his car wheels and shoes. Walking up to the police officer he asked him "What was taken?"

The man replied instantly, voice cool and professional "A very expensive painting and a red motorbike. The owner is getting the details now."

Jerry nodded, wondering what idiot would steal a bike this late at night. He also sighed as he realised that, out of the numerous robbery attempts that had all failed, this one had not. For some reason, the painting Mr Trump owned was sort after by the criminal world. Looking at the outside of the house, he saw the 'crime scene' banner stuck over the door and entrance to the garage and then Mr Trump himself, talking another officer, the partner of the man Jerry was talking to. "What details do you have?"

The officer sighed and shook his head "Not much. It's almost entirely too clean. Forensics are in the room where the painting was taken right now."

Jerry nodded again. "What about the garage?"

The officer shook his head "Mr Trump insisted we look in the other room first so no ones been in the garage yet. The forensics agreed with him, they want to make sure they have everything from the place where the painting was stolen first."

Jerry looked at the garage wondering why a thief would steal a painting and then a motorcycle…it didn't make sense. Mr Trump was famous for his security; famous enough to make even a experienced thief pause. So why had this person risked everything for one _motorbike_? Turning to the officer beside him the man said. "I'm going to need to see that crime scene."

The officer nodded and led him inside.

Looking around, the policeman saw nothing amiss. Except, of course, the fact that the motorbike had been stolen. Still, if he had not been in this garage before he would have never suspected anything had happened. Like the other officer had said, it was very clean…to clean. Whoever had done this knew what they were doing. That suggested they had done this before so Jerry reminded himself to check up on any other robberies that seemed like this one. Turning around, he tried to see anything that would help him. But there was nothing, the shelves had everything neatly staked, without a single thing knocked over or out of place. Frowning, he examined the room again, and saw a flash of white out of the corner of his eye-

Stopping, the man walked over to where he had seen it, the key hooks. There, on one of the hooks, was a small white piece of paper. Interestingly, above it there was a label that said 'motorcycle'…

Jerry quickly pulled on his gloves and then gently pulled the paper free. Realising it was a note, he turned it over and read it. And then raised an eyebrow. And then smirked when he realised he had something he could use…

"Officer," he called out, a mixture of excitement and exasperation in his voice. "Get me someone from forensics."

The policeman was by his side in an instant, frowning. "Why?"

"I know who did this." Jerry replied calmly, looking down at the note.

_This isn't usually my style (museums are more my thing) but thanks anyway for the bike! :)_

* * *

Piper sighed.

She thought that it had been an hour since she had been here but, since she did not have a watch, she could not tell. The room she was in was completely white, with a large, but obviously locked, door on the wall opposite her. Looking to her left, she gave Chris a concerned glance, he had been unconscious for the last hour. She wanted to go over to him and see if he was alright but…

There was kind of a force field separating them.

Every time she touched it the invisible sent a light, warning, electric shock down her arm that made it numb for a minute or two. For the last hour or so she had been pacing around with barely contained frustration, putting her recently freed hands to good use by trying to blow up the wall of energy that was separating them. She would also work on the door. Saying a spell didn't work, Leo had warned her as he had dragged her away from Gideon that the potion she had taken would stop her from being able to say a spell. He had refused to explain anything more; eyes tight with pain, only saying that there was nothing he could do for Chris right now, but he wouldn't let her draw the Elders attention to herself.

Still, she had tried to say a spell anyway.

It hadn't worked. In fact, it had _hurt_, made her stop chanting in shock and well as complete inability to say anything more. But instead of dissuading her…it had just made her angry. And she had been pounding at the force field and the door for the past hour, trying to get through. Trying to get _out_.

"How long have I been out?"

Chris's voice distracted her from her thoughts and she watched as he got to his feet, wobbled slightly, seemingly surprised to have his hands still tied behind his back when hers were free, and then gave an annoyed sounding huff and then muttering "Couldn't they have at _least _taken of the blindfold?"

Piper smirked at his affronted expression "Hey, you agreed to put it on. And they seem to think your more dangerous than me…since my hands are free and yours aren't"

Chris smiled slightly before the expression suddenly faded. "I know. And it's not to do with me being 'dangerous'…it's about the fact that they hate me. They respect you too much to tie you up. But," he said quickly at her questioning look. "we have to get out of here. Now."

"Yeah…about that. I'm guessing you don't know about the inability to cast spells thing?" Piper told him, trying to keep her tone light and unconcerned. Inside, however, she wanted to throttle the Elders who had done this; after all her family had done for them over the years.

To her surprised Chris smirked slightly, which looked a little creepy when coupled with the black material over his eyes. "No, I know about it. But it doesn't matter. The Elders made this for me…the _old _me. It should wear of soon."

"Alright," Piper replied impatiently, wondering why said the 'old me'. "What about me? The potion works on me too."

Chris gave her a look that would have been way more effective had he actually been looking at her. The Charmed One stifled a grin. "You give yourself way too little credit. Who exactly do you think you are? A garden gnome? Piper, you and your sisters are the single most powerful witches to have _lived_. Even Wyatt would never be able to defeat all of you. Do you have any idea how powerful you actually are? This potion is going to wear of you as well. Way before its 'supposed' to."

Piper found herself rolling her eyes. "Yeah well this 'powerful witch' is getting a little bored. How long do we have to wait?"

"No idea. But lets try a spell…" Chris replied with a grin.

_Shield separating me from you_

_Disappear, this is- _

The grin faded as his words were cut off abruptly and Piper found herself smirking smugly. "You were saying?"

Chris glared. "I just need a little more time ok? I think they must of given me a stronger does than I thought…"

"Ok, so what do we do now? We have to get that force field down, then get out of this room, figure out whether they have any wards affecting your orbing, get that blindfold of you, and get out of here without getting caught. Oh, and then we have to get back to the past." Piper listed, feeling strangely confident despite her words.

Chris frowned and then said "Look, I know this timeline. This force field is not going to be a problem for long. If we can get out of the Elders sanctuary then I can get us back to the past…ok? But you have to tell me how we got here in the first place. I kinda couldn't see at the time."

Piper thought back to when they had exited the trees by the park. "There was a…hole. I think it was a hole anyway. But it looked like half the street had been replaced by half the street from the future. And when we walked through; we were all suddenly here."

Chris was about to answer when the door opened slowly, and a familiar figure walked into the room, face determined. Piper and Chris looked at him in shock, before the Charmed One repeated a word she had said not an hour before "Leo?"

The Elder nodded, eyes harder than the witch remembered, but she saw the same traces of love in his features.

"Come on. We don't have much time."

* * *

The attic was empty; there was no one there.

Filled with remnants of the years gone by, the puzzle pieces of peoples lives that no longer fit together, memories carefully piled together so they would not be left behind. A table for potion making, covered with tiny vials filled with various magical liquid. The table cloth was almost completely covered by all the different things, only a small part of it left visible. The was the brown cabinet on the left side of the room, top draw partway open where a witch had forgotten to shut it. The empty vial dropped on the floor, where it had smashed, in the witches haste to get back downstairs to her friend.

And then there was the book…

It rested on a pedestal, centuries of magical knowledge contained within it's ancient, powerful, pages. Black cover closed, the symbol on the front that represented the power of three was visible, and, if there was someone there, they may have commented on how thick the book was, how many pages it had. They were yellowing slightly with age, making a creaking sound as they were turned…but no demons had ever been able to keep the book, despite its frail appearance, away from the Charmed Ones. It was-

But then something strange happened, something that would have prompted a gasp or a sigh or _something._

The book disappeared in a shower of light.

But, as I said, there was no one there to see it, to comment, to start frantically looking or summoning or calling out for her sisters…

The Book of Shadows was gone.

_

* * *

_

Cliffhanger! Dun dun DUN! Hmm, what's going on? Why is the future still the same? Why is Phoebe getting her powers back? Who did she sense? Who, or what, stole the book? And are they insane? Do they think they are going to get away with it? O_o Is Jerry onto Chris? Oh…and where the hell is Paige in all of this?

Yeah, so I hoped you enjoyed it…sorry it was late. I forgot to upload. And I need to catch up. The next chapter isn't even finished like it usually is. And updates might become fortnightly. I have another project that I'm going to be dividing my focus with it and this. I know it sounds harsh, but since this story hasn't had as much interest as I hoped I know that I can afford to do that. Not that I'm stopping, no way, I wouldn't do that to you, but I'm slowing down a little.

Oh and sorry about Gideon...I'm not happy with how I wrote him. He came out really slimy and stuff. Sorry -sheepish smile-

Read and review! They make me smile lol.


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